Politics & Government

Low Voter Turnout Marks Thursday's State Primary in Stoughton

Just 8.8 percent of Stoughton voters went to the polls for the September 6 State Primary. Robert Jubinville won the Democratic primary for Governor's Council in District 2 and Joseph Selvaggi won the 8th Congressional District Republican primary.

Five takeaways from Thursday's Massachusetts State Primary results in Stoughton:

1. Low Voter Turnout

With few contested races on either the Democrat or Republican Party ballots, turnout was low for the September 6 primary in Stoughton. Only 8.8 percent of registered voters in town (1,542 of 17,470) went to the polls on Thursday.

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1,071 took a Democratic Party ballot and 471 took a Republican Party ballot. No Green Party ballots were taken.

The only contested races were Governor's Council on the Democratic side and Representative in Congress on the Republican side.

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By comparison, 17.7 percent of voters took part in the September 2010 state primary, where there were more contested races on the ballot. Voter turnout in this past March's presidential primary, where only the Republican Party race was contested, was 16 percent.

Thursday's turnout most closely resembles the low participation rate in the 2011 Annual Town Election when just 9 percent pf voters (1,585 people) went to the polls.

2. Jubinville Wins Democratic Primary for Governor's Council in District 2

Robert Jubinville won the four-way Democratic Party primary for the second district of the Governor's Council.

Jubinville (35%) defeated Bart Timilty (28%), Brian Clinton (28%) and Patrick McCabe (9%), according to district-wide results posted on the Boston Globe's website.

In Stoughton, Jubinville received 444 votes; Timilty received 288 votes; Clinton received 174 votes; and McCabe received 57 votes. There were also 108 "blanks" cast.

As the Democratic nominee, Jubinville will face Republican Earl Sholley in November. Sholley ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

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3. Selvaggi Wins 8th Congressional District Republican Primary

Joseph Selvaggi of Boston will challenge Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) in November's general election after defeating Republican opponent Matt Temperley in a tight 8th Congressional District race in Thursday's State Primary.

Selvaggi took 59 percent of the District's vote compared to Temperley who received 41 percent, according to election results from Boston.com.

Lynch was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.

In Stoughton, Selvaggi received 266 votes compared to Temperley's 144 votes. There were 60 "blanks" cast and one write-in.

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4. Additional results

The most high-profile office on the ballot - U.S. Senator - was unopposed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots with Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren and Republican incumbent Scott Brown not facing a primary challenge.

Of the 1,071 people to take a Democratic ballot in Stoughton, 844 voted for Warren, with 205 "blanks" cast and 22 write-ins. Brown received 463 of the 471 Republican votes.

Francis W. O'Brien received 722 votes for Norfolk County Commissioner in the Democratic primary. John M. Gillis received 599. There were 815 blanks cast. This was not a contested race - there were two candidates for two seats.

The aforementioned Lynch ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional District. Also running unopposed on the Democratic side: State Representatives Louis L. Kafka (precincts 2, 3, 4 and 6) and William C. Galvin (precincts 1, 5, 7 and 8); Brian A. Joyce (State Senator); Walter F. Timilty (Clerk of Courts); and William P. O'Donnell (Register of Deeds).

Joyce, with 915 votes, was the top vote-getter on the Democratic side.

Other than U.S. Senate, Congressman and Governor's Council there were no other candidates on the Republican side. Earl Sholley received 344 votes running unopposed for the Republican nomination for Governor's Council in District 2.

5. What's next?

The general election will take place Tuesday, November 6. While a lot of local races won't be contested, the ballot will feature high-stakes races for President (Democrat incumbent Barack Obama vs. Republican Mitt Romney); U.S. Senate (Brown vs. Warren) and U.S. Representative in Congress from the 8th District in Massachusetts (Lynch vs. Selvaggi).

The Governor's Council seat in District 2 will also be contested (Jubinville vs. Sholley).

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Patch editors Justin Saglio and Tony Catinella contributed reporting. Results from the Town Clerk's Office are posted in the media gallery of this article.

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