Low Voter Turnout in Burlington

Voter turnout in today's primary election is relatively low in Burlington.

According to the numbers posted by Town Clerk Amy Warfield, as of 6 p.m. 1,539 votes had been cast at the polls. That is 10.1 percent of the 14,326 registered voters in Burlington. The polls are open until 8 p.m. this evening at .

The most significant contested race in this area is among the Democratic candidates who are running to be on the ballot for the 21st Middlesex District State Representative seat being left vacant by outgoing Rep. Charles Murphy.

The 21 Middlesex District includes the towns of Burlington, Bedford and Precinct 3 of Wilmington.

What is unique about this primary ballot is that Murphy, even though he is not running for re-election, will be the only name on the Democratic ballot. This means that all the candidates must have voters either write in their names or place a sticker, which most will be handing out at the polls, in the "write in" section of the ballot.

In order for a write-in vote to count, the candidate's name must be clearly written into the write-in section in a way that leaves no doubt what the voter intended.

The three Democratic candidates are CPA and business owner , Vice Chair of the Bedford Zoning Board and attorney and former Burlington Selectman and current Town Meeting member . (Click the candidate's name for their candidacy announcements.)

Burlington Town Clerk Amy Warfield said that in order for a candidate to win the primary, he or she must both get over 150 votes and receive more than Murphy. If Murphy wins because his name is on the ballot, the decision of who will be on the ballot in November will be made by the Democratic Town Committees in the towns in the district.