The 2020 election came to an official end in Massachusetts on Wednesday, with a unanimous vote by the Governor’s Council to certify the results.
The Nov. 3 presidential election set a new turnout record, and was the culmination of an unusual and extended election period in which new options for ballot-casting were offered in light the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, 76 percent of the state’s more than 4.8 million voters — or 3,657,972 people — participated in the election, and about 65 percent of those who voted did so either early in-person or by mail.
“With this certification, the 2020 Election is officially over,” Galvin said. “By all measures, this was the most challenging and the most successful election year we have had in Massachusetts.”
The certified results show 2,382,202 votes cast for President-elect Joe Biden, 1,167,202 for President Donald Trump, 47,013 for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen, and 18,658 for Green-Rainbow candidate Howard Hawkins.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey received 2,357,809 votes, more than double the 1,177,765 votes earned by his Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor.
Write-in Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai took in 21,134 votes.
Each of the seven incumbent Governor’s Council members ran unopposed.
Democrat Paul DePalo claimed a vacant central Massachusetts seat, with 97.4 percent of the vote over write-in candidate Peter Stefan’s 0.3 percent.
(Copyright (c) 2024 State House News Service.