Low Voter Turnout in Melrose for Special State Election

There may be nearly 20,000 registered voters in Melrose, but only 19.3 percent of them decided to participate in the Special State Election on Tuesday.

Of the 19,800 registered voters in Melrose, 3,824 cast their ballots on Dec. 10, according to results by the Melrose City Clerk's Office. Ward 1, Precinct 1 had the most voters (412) participate in the election process, while Ward 7, Precinct 1 had the fewest voters with 204.

Of the four candidates vying for Edward Markey's 5th Congressional District seat, Katherine Clark captured the most votes in her home city of Melrose with 2,640 (69 percent), followed by Republican challenger Frank Addivinola Jr. (1,135 votes, or nearly 30 percent), Independent candidate James Aulenti (26, or 0.68 percent) and Justice Peace Security Party candidate James Hall with nine votes (0.24 percent). There were also 14 write-in votes.

Clark won every ward and precinct in Melrose. Overall, Clark defeated Addivinola to win the race for Congress.

With the victory, Clark will be sworn in as a U.S. Representative and fill the vacancy left by Markey, who defeated Republican challenger Gabriel Gomez in the race for former Sen. John Kerry's seat earlier this year. Kerry's post became available after he was chosen by the Obama administration to become Secretary of State.

To see a complete breakdown of votes by ward and precinct in Melrose, check out the attached PDF.