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BOSTON (24/7 NewsSource/WBZ-AM) -- Early voting availability begins today for Massachusetts.
Voters can cast their ballots now through November 2nd if they want to vote ahead of the November 6th elections.
"We're going to have ten days of early voting which begin today," Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "The hours vary from community to community, however, every community will have the availability of early voting beginning today."
Early ballots can be requested by mail, or residents can check the Massachusetts Secretary of State's website.
Galvin said it's not like absentee voting--you don't need a particular reason to do it early. It offers the flexibility of avoiding the Election Day rush, with long lines and traffic. It's just the second November election in the state to include early voting--last time around, over a million Massachusetts residents did it, and Galvin said he expects it to go smoothly this election.
"It's an opportunity for people to vote in person," he said. "Their ballot will be set aside and delivered to the polls for them on November 6."
But Galvin said the important thing is to know how you want to vote before you go--because there are no "do-overs."
"The key is, you have to know what you want to do, because once you've voted, that's it," he said. "That's especially true of ballot questions. We have three statewide ballot questions, but a number of communities have local questions as well. So, we would suggest to people if they're planning on voting early, first of all check the hours in your community, but then also, make sure you know exactly what you want to do when you go to vote."
Find out where you can vote early here.
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LISTEN: Secretary of State Bill Galvin (@BillGalvin4MA) talks about early voting