Lynn voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 14 to nominate two candidates for mayor for the final election in November.
Mayoral candidates Darren Cyr, Michael Satterwhite, and Jared Nicholson have been campaigning for the past several months, participating in candidates’ forum and going to door-to-door in hopes of bringing out the vote in Tuesday’s election. The top two finishers in Tuesday’s election will advance to the Nov. 2 election, while the third-place finisher will be eliminated from contention.
Mayor Thomas McGee announced in March that he would not be seeking re-election to a second term.
The Lynn city councillor and school committee contests will also be on the ballot, but all candidates for those positions will advance to the Nov. 2 ballot.
City Clerk Janet Rowe said the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at eight citywide locations. A total of 56,000 voters are eligible to vote in the election.
Rowe is expecting a higher-than-usual turnout on Tuesday, due to the significant interest in the mayoral race.
“That is the big race, and the one people are talking about, so I’m hoping we see a good turnout,” said Rowe. “I say it all the time that people come out in droves for the [U.S.] presidential election, which is great, but your local officials – those are the people that can really do something for you. You can get an appoint with the mayor, but not with the president. I think local issues are really important, especially in a big city like Lynn. With everything that is going on, I don’t understand why people don’t come out and vote. My father always said that you can’t complain if you don’t vote.”
Many residents requested mail-in ballots from the Election Department.
“We’ve sent out 1,200 mail-in requests for ballots, and the ballots are coming in every day,” said Rowe. “People can still come into the building [City Hall] and vote absentee ballot, but there’s no early voting.”
Rowe added that candidates and supporters can hold campaign signs outside the polling locations, but they must be at least 150 feet from the entrances to the polls. Lynn Police officers will be at the polling sites to enforce that policy, noted Rowe.