A woman snaps a selfie from the stands of Fenway Park on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. The park welcomed voters to take photos in front of the legendary field. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
Voters in voting booths make their choices for the 2020 Election. While the focus of this elections season has been on the contentious presidential contest, voters are also casting their ballots for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and local offices. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
Voters line up in front of Gate A at Fenway Park on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
The Milton family stands outside of Fenway Park after voting. It is the first time the family was able to all vote together since Jordan (right) recently turned 18. Curtis (second to the left) says “it is an opprotunity to exersice our right to vote which our people have fought for throughout time.” Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
Kevin, a poll worker, checks in early voters at the Jackson-Mann School in Allston-Brighton on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. It is just the beginning of the multi-step early voting process, said station warden Joan Perkins. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
Paula, the clerk for the Jackson-Mann School early voting location, conducts business on her tablet. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
Jack Lan stands outside the Jackson-Mann School after voting. He said he was voting to avoid “being some youth voter apathy statistic.” Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service 
Shirley Yue and her friend stand in line to vote outside of the Jackson-Mann School. Yue says she is voting because she is “tired of the last four years.” She believes this election is “probably the most important election of our lifetime.” Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service 
Alex Camerina stands outside of the Jackson-Mann School holding a Kevin Honan campaign sign. Camerina said he was out campaigning because Honan wanted to show “good faith.” Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service. 
A.J. Jenkins, volunteering for the Yes on 2 campaign, stands with a sign outside of Fenway Park. He said rank choice voting would help “build consensus” among voters. Photo by Luciano Cesta/BU News Service.
By Luciano Cesta
BU News Service
On Saturday, Oct.17, Boston residents gathered in early voting locations across the city to cast their ballot for the 2020 election. Voters came to exercise their civic duty, marking their choices on ballot questions and for local offices, Congress and the next U.S. president. Lines wrapped around Fenway Park and the Jackson-Mann School through a chilly afternoon, as volunteers vying for votes held signs and talked to voters about their causes.
“The votes are not counted today,” said Joan Perkins, the warden for early voting in Allston-Brighton. “They are simply voted today and they get distributed to the precincts on Nov. 3. And on that day, we put them all through the scanner like we do everybody who’s on sight.”
As of Oct. 23, 24,803 people had already voted in Boston through in-person early voting, according to the Boston Election Department twitter. Early voting will continue across the state until Friday, Oct. 31.
