Marlborough Resident Plays Her Primary Part

Dotty Holmes sat as the lone sign holder during primary voting Thursday along Main Street in Marlborough. Supporting her chosen candidate is nothing new to the local senior, who started advocating for candidates at the age of six.

"I went door to door in San Francisco," said Holmes who is on the Democratic Committee. "My dad started me doing it and I never stopped."

Holmes believes that it is important to advocate for the people fighting for the middle class. She was out supporting her candidates Danielle Werner Gregoire, running for state representative, and Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the U.S. Senate. It is always important to be out with signs as many people still do not know who to vote for when the primary comes around, she said.

"I like helping out. You don't get many people that come out," said Holmes explaining that many people cannot hold signs because of work.

Danielle Gregoire, who was coming through the city after stops at Northborough and Westborough, said that volunteers like Holmes are extremely important, especially on days where there is a low expected voter turn out.

"I think it's important to have as much visibility today as possible," said Gregoire who is attempting to take back a seat she held from 2009 through 2010 and lost to Steven Levy by a margin of 100 votes.

Talk among those working the polls was that there had been an ebb and flow to the day. Overall, there was an expected low voter turnout. In the primary four years ago 15.2 percent of voters came out, said City Clerk Lisa Thomas. She expected a 10 to 15 percent turnout for this primary which was held on a Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday.

"Primaries have a tendency to have a very low turnout," said Thomas.