Record Number of Ballots Cast in Massachusetts Primary

BOSTON (AP) — A fierce Senate Democratic contest helped spur a record number of Massachusetts voters to cast ballots in last week’s primary.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said Wednesday there were more than 1.7 million ballots cast in the election — besting the previous record set during the 1990 state primaries when more than 1.5 million were cast.

The vast majority of last week’s ballots — more than 1.4 million — came from Democrats who helped decide an increasingly divisive primary battle between incumbent U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and challenger, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

There were more than 272,000 Republican ballots cast.