Lynners’ 8th Essex balloting at City Hall

LYNN – A month after joining Marblehead and Swampscott voters in casting primary ballots, Lynn voters in two oceanfront precincts will go to City Hall to choose their new state representative.City Clerk Mary Audley said she is taking the rare step of holding an election in City Hall rather than the regular polling places for Ward 3, Precinct 4 and Ward 4, Precinct 4 to save money and centralize the balloting process.”We’ll send cards out to all voters beforehand,” Audley said Monday.Tentative plans call for setting up voting machines in the health clinic in City Hall’s basement near the handicapped entrance or in the first floor election office.Ward 4, Precinct 4’s 1,864 voters usually vote at North Shore Community College while the 1,705 voters in Ward 3, Precinct 4 usually vote at English High School.They represent a small percentage of the voters who will go to the polls beginning at 7 a.m. on March 4 to select a successor to former 8th Essex District state Rep. Douglas Petersen.Marblehead and Swampscott voters will cast most of the votes in the final election and in next Tuesday’s primary when Democrats in the 8th Essex will choose between Cesar Archilla of Swampscott or Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead and Republicans choose between John Blaisdell and Tanya DeGenova of Marblehead.Enrolled candidate Mark Barry is running in the March 4 election.Primary ballots for Republicans and Democrats as well as smaller parties like the Green-Rainbow and Working Families will be available Tuesday.Unenrolled voters can ask for a ballot for their party of choice. Unlike in past years, they do not have to fill out a voting form to participate in the primary or to change their status back to unenrolled after they vote.The primary ballots include the names of Democrats like Bill Richardson and Joseph Biden, and Republicans, including Fred Thompson, who have already quit the campaign trail.The ballots list the names of 8th Essex candidates as well as Democrat and Republicans seeking to represent their part as state committee or ward committee members.Voter interest in the Feb. 3 primary exceeds registration numbers for the 2004 presidential primary election with 500 residents registering to vote in the two months prior to the primary compared to 294 registered in the two months preceding the March 2004 primary.In Revere, 905 residents registered to vote in the primary since November, compared to 411 who registered prior to the 2004 primary.