LYNN— Lynn’s preliminary election saw a historically low voter turnout on Tuesday.
Out of 62,212 registered voters in Lynn, 1,885 voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, for a total turnout of 3.03%.
For reference, in 2023’s preliminary election, the total turnout of registered voters was 7.9%. In 2021, it was 14.9%. Public records show Lynn’s preliminary election voter turnout statistics dating back to 2001, with the previous lowest numbers being 5% in 2005.
The 2025 preliminary election took place one day after Labor Day, and one day before Lynn Public School’s first day of classes. It was also held earlier than previous years, as Lynn preliminary elections historically take place between Sept. 3 and Sept. 25. There is also no mayoral election this year, as Mayor Jared Nicholson is running unopposed.
This year’s preliminary election also only eliminated two candidates, both from the Ward 5 Councilor race. According to the unofficial results, Liliana Patino was eliminated after receiving 58 votes, while Augustina Avelino Matos was eliminated after receiving 26 votes.
Ward 5 Councilor candidate Josh Polonsky will be moving forward with 110 votes, while Cardeliz Paez will be moving forward with 62 votes.
Polonsky and Paez are both running to replace Dianna Chakoutis. Chakoutis endorsed Polonsky after announcing she would not be running for re-election.
Polonsky only received more votes than Paez in one out of the four Ward 5 precincts. For example, he received three votes for precinct 2 of Ward 5, while Paez received thirteen votes in the same precinct. These results mean that there is no heavy favor for the final election for Ward 5 Councilor.
For the final election on Nov. 4, one councilor will be named for each of Lynn’s seven wards. Ward 1 incumbent Pete Meaney is running against Paul Gouthro, with Meaney receiving 115 more unofficial votes than Gouthro on Tuesday.
Running unopposed are Ward 2 Councilor Obed Matul, Ward 3 Councilor Coco Alinsug, Ward 4 Councilor Natasha Megie-Maddrey, and Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan.
As for Ward 7, Jordan Avery and Billy Devin Jr. are running to replace Jay Walsh. While Walsh endorsed Avery for this year’s election, the unofficial preliminary results show Avery leading Devin by only 15 votes.
Five candidates are running for four Councilor-at-Large seats. Incumbent Brian Field led the Council-at-Arge polls with 1,061 unofficial preliminary votes, only 55 votes ahead of Hong Net.
“As humbling as it is to finish first, it’s only the beginning of a very busy 2 months until the final election in November. The margins between 1st and 4th were very narrow, so it was really anyone’s race in the primary,” Field told The Daily Item.
Meanwhile, nine candidates are running for six school committee seats. Five out of the six current incumbents are running this year because Sean Reid is not running for re-election.
Challenger Tristan Smith came in fourth place for the unofficial preliminary school committee election results, with 762 votes.
While this year is Smith’s first time running for school committee, he has experience with organizing election campaigns. In 2022, Smith ran for Massachusetts House of Representatives to represent the 8th Essex District, and came in second place behind Jenny Armini for the Democratic Primary.
The other three school committee challengers are Stacy Bryant Brown, Brenda Ortiz McGrath, and Julie Pyram Dorsey, who unofficially polled in seventh, eighth, and ninth place respectively. Brown also ran for school committee in 2023, while Ortiz McGrath and Pyram Dorsey are first-time runners.
As an incumbent, Field also gave his perspective on the potential causes of this year’s preliminarily election low voter turnout.
“The voters generally know who they are voting for and why. If an election only matters in one Ward, like it did this year in Ward 5, the turnout is going to be low. In the past, low turnout has generally meant that voters are happy with the incumbents and don’t really feel the need to vote until the final election,” he said.
