Combined sources

(BOSTON) –The September 1 primary drew a historic 1.7 million voters in Massachusetts, breaking the previous record for the state primary’s turnout set three decades ago, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced on Wednesday.

Galvin said 1,427,868 votes were cast in the Democratic Primary, which had a highly anticipated the U.S. Senate election in which Ed Markey fended off Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Another 272,648 ballots were cast in the Republican Primary.

This year’s primary was notable as it was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was the first to feature mail-in ballots.