Mass. officials expect decent turnout, despite snow, in race to fill Kennedy’s Senate seat

Mass. voters brave snow, rain in Senate race

BOSTON — Massachusetts voters are facing a backup at some polling places as they cast their ballots in the pivotal race to fill the Senate seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Boston election officials reported Tuesday they were having over double the turnout from December’s party primaries. Voters in Andover and North Andover were greeted with big traffic backups. Secretary of State William Galvin says he expected from 1.6 million to 2.2 million people to vote — a spread of between 40 percent and 55 percent of registered voters.

Light snow and rain fell across the state as voters picked between Republican Scott Brown, Democrat Martha Coakley and independent Joseph L. Kennedy. National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Foley called the weather “kind of an annoyance.”