MassLive | It’s Election Day, Massachusetts. Here’s what to know, the races to watch

By John L. Micek
Story Originally Appeared in MassLive

Voters across the state, from Pittsfield to Boston, and all points in-between, are headed to the polls this Election Day to cast their ballots in a host of consequential contests.

Those elections will determine control of City Halls and local school committees, along with the make-up of the solidly Democratic state Senate, as Republicans try to flip a seat most recently held by Democrats.

MassLive will bring you coverage of these important races throughout the day on Election Day. Here’s a look at some of the key contests — and what you need to know to cast your ballot.

How to Vote:

The polls open at 7 a.m. this Tuesday and close at 8 p.m. You can check your voter registration status here. You can find your local polling place here. This FAQ walks you through all the steps you’ll need to take when you arrive to cast your ballot.

Identification Requirements:

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, you may be asked to show identification at your local polling place if:

• You are voting for the first time in Massachusetts in an election.

• You are an inactive voter.

• You are casting a provisional or challenged ballot.

• The poll worker has a reasonable suspicion that leads them to request identification.

Acceptable identification must include your name and the address at which you are registered to vote.

The forms of acceptable identification include:

• A driver’s license.

• A state-issued ID card

• A recent utility bill

• A rent receipt or lease

• A copy of your voter registration affidavit.

• Any printed identification which contains the voter’s name and address.

The Key Races:

Boston City Council: Boston’s municipal election could result in some big changes to City Council. Eight candidates are running for four at-large seats on the council, including three incumbents, Councilors Julia Mejia, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Erin Murphy. Six of Boston’s nine council districts have contested races.

In District 5, which includes Hyde Park, Roslindale and parts of Mattapan, Enrique Pepén, former director of the Office of Neighborhood Services, and Jose Ruiz, a retired police officer, are up for the district councilor seat.

Current District 5 Councilor Ricardo Arroyo lost his bid for reelection in the September preliminary election after a series of scandals — including a Boston Globe report exposing decades-old sexual assault allegations against him during his 2022 run for Suffolk County district attorney.

Also voted out in September was District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara, who represents West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, and whose car crash into a house in July was widely publicized after police said she was driving on a suspended license. Lara’s seat will be taken by either lawyer Benjamin Weber or IT professional William King.

Springfield:

Springfield’s mayoral contest between incumbent Domenic J. Sarno and challenger Justin Hurst, a member of Springfield City Council, was rocked by controversy last week, as Hurst fended off allegations that his campaign paid people $10 to vote for him.

He called it a “last-minute smear campaign” by Sarno, and accused him of using City Hall employees who work for him to make a last-minute effort to win the election.

Along with the mayor’s race, voters will have a number of choices for City Council. The city saw a huge field of candidates for City Council at-large in September’s preliminary race, when voters reduced the number of candidates from 21 to 10.

Special Senate Election:

Two Worcester state legislators will square off against one another for a central Massachusetts Senate seat in the Nov. 7 election.

Republican Rep. Peter Durant is set to run against Democrat Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik for the Hampshire and Worcester-based Senate seat most recently held by former Democratic Sen. Anne Gobi.

Gobi left the seat in May to take on a new role as Rural Affairs Director in Gov. Maura Healey’s administration.

For Republicans, the open seat represents a rare opportunity to chip away at the Democrats’ towering majority in the upper chamber, and an opportunity to square accounts after a series of inter-party battles and a 2022 election that saw them shut out of statewide office, GBH News reported.

For Democrats, there are similarly high stakes. In a get-out-the vote email, Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder highlighted Zlotnik’s past House votes for abortion-access measures — and Durant’s votes against them, GBH News further reported.

Fall River Mayor’s Office:

Voters will decide between incumbent Mayor Paul Coogan and former mayor C. Sam Sutter to next lead this South Coast city. Coogan is seeking a third term, while Sutter won a 2015 election against former mayor Will Flanagan, according to The Herald News. Sutter was later defeated by then-City Councilor Jasiel Correira II.

In 2019, Coogan defeated Correira by a wide margin while the latter faced federal fraud and corruption charges. Correira was later convicted and he is now in federal prison.

Revere:

In Revere, a closely watched council contest could diversify the city’s leadership. There’s also a must-watch race for the city’s mayor’s office.

Ten candidates are vying for five seats on City Council. The city is roughly half-white but represented by an entirely-white city council.

Some candidates on the ballot could change that, including at-large council candidates Alexander Rhalimi, who was born in Morocco but grew up in Revere, and Juan Jaramillo, whose family immigrated from Colombia.

Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe Jr. is challenged by former mayor, and current at-large City Councilor Dan Rizzo, for Revere’s top office. Keefe has served as mayor since April when former Mayor Brian Arrigo became the state’s new Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioner.

Worcester:

The second-largest city in Massachusetts could see an overhaul of its city government on Election Day. All 11 city council seats have multiple candidates running for office, GBH News reported. And that’s not including candidates running for the city’s eight school committee positions.

The mayoral candidates are also running for city councilor at-large seats, as everyone running for that seat is automatically also considered for mayor unless they withdraw in September, according to The Worcester Regional Research Bureau’s 2023 Worcester Almanac, which explains the city’s form of government.

Amherst School Committee:

In Amherst, voters will be asked to fill spaces in the depleted Amherst Regional School Committee after it was rocked by a series of abrupt resignations in September, stemming from a high-profile, high-tension controversy around the treatment of transgender students at the district’s middle school.

Three school committee members, Allison McDonald, Peter Demling and the panel’s chairperson, Ben Herrington, along with Superintendent Michael Morris, all handed in their walking papers within days of each other, MassLive previously reported.

All told, seven candidates are running for five, available spots on the panel. At a public forum last month, attended by six of the seven candidates, all vowed to make sure community voices were heard, and that the district’s next superintendent shared the community’s values of diversity and inclusion, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported.