Voters will begin narrowing the fields for statewide offices and a handful of more local positions when early in-person voting begins Saturday in advance of the Sept. 6 primary election.
While voters across Massachusetts will decide on the candidates who will compete in the general election for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and auditor, among other offices, there are also races specific to the region, including four Democrats running for the 8th District seat on the Governor’s Council.
Democrats, Republicans and unenrolled voters will be able to participate in early voting, with many communities offering the option through Sept. 2, though in some towns it will be for a shorter duration.
Saturday is also the final day for residents to register to vote in the primary.
The 8th District of the Governor’s Council has four candidates on the Democratic side: Jeffrey Morneau of Longmeadow, Tara Jacobs of North Adams, Michael Fenton of Springfield and Shawn Allyn of Agawam. The winner looks to succeed Mary Hurley, also a Democrat, in the position, and will go on to face John Comerford of Palmer, a Republican, in the general election.
In the 7th Hampden District, covering the Franklin County towns of New Salem, Wendell and Shutesbury, Democrat Aaron Saunders and Republican James “Chip” Harrington are unopposed in the primary and are expected to face off in the general election to take over the seat of current Rep. Jacob Oliveira.
In a state Senate race, voters in the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District will have a choice between Democrats Paul Mark, a current state representative, and Huff Tyler Templeton III, a former Williamstown School Committee member.
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Richard Neal and Republican challenger Dean James Martilli are in uncontested primary races and are expected to run against each other in the general election.
The state’s 2nd Congressional District features no primary challengers for incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, or Republican Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette. The general election will likely see Sossa-Paquette looking to unseat McGovern.
Incumbent Democratic state Sen. Jo Comerford, representing the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District, and state Rep. Natalie Blais, representing the 1st Franklin District, face no primary challengers. Both are expected to run unopposed in the general election.
Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, both Democrats, are also expected to run unopposed in the general election with no primary challengers.
Statewide, the Republican ballot includes contests for governor between businessman Chris Doughty and former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, and for lieutenant governor between former state Reps. Kate Campanale and Leah Allen.
But it is on the Democratic side where several races will be decided, even after Sonia Chang-Diaz has dropped out of the governor’s race and cleared the way for Attorney General Maura Healey to claim the nomination.
Those contests are for lieutenant governor between state Sen. Eric Lesser, state Rep. Tami Gouveia and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll; for secretary of state, where incumbent William Galvin is facing a challenge from Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP; and for auditor, between transportation advocate Christopher Dempsey and state Sen. Diana DiZoglio.
There is also a contest to succeed Healey as attorney general between U.S. Department of Commerce attorney Quentin Palfrey, labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, and lawyer and former Boston councilor Andrea Campbell.
The dates, times and locations of early voting in Franklin County communities are as follows:
■Ashfield: Town Hall, 412 Main St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.; Monday, Aug. 29, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Thursday, Sept. 1, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
■Bernardston: Town Hall, 38 Church St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Monday, Aug. 29, 3 to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 31, 3 to 6 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Friday, Sept. 2, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment until 5 p.m.
■Buckland: Town Clerk’s Office, 17 State St. — Saturday Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1 to 3 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 31, 4 to 6 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 1, 9 to 11 a.m.; and Friday, Sept. 2, 3 to 5 p.m.
■Charlemont: Town Hall 157 Main St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
■Colrain: Town Hall, 55 Main Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 5 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1, 10 a.m. to noon, and Friday, Sept. 2, 10 a.m. to noon.
■Conway: Town Hall, 5 Academy Hill Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 2 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday Aug. 31, 2 to 5 p.m., Thursday Sept. 1, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. to noon.
■Deerfield: Municipal Offices, 8 Conway St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, Aug. 29, through Thursday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
■Erving: Town Hall, 12 East Main St. — Monday, Aug. 29, through Thursday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
■Gill: Town Hall, 325 Main Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, through Wednesday, Aug. 31, noon to 2 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, 4 to 6 p.m.
■Greenfield: City Hall, 14 Court Square — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, through Friday, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
■Hawley: Town Office, 8 Pudding Hollow Road — Tuesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m. to noon; Saturday, Sept. 3, 10 a.m. to noon.
■Heath: Town Clerk’s Office, 18 Jacobs Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 1 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Sept. 1, 9 a.m. to noon, and Friday, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m.
■Leverett: Town Hall, 9 Montague Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 1 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, through Thursday, Sept. 1, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
■Leyden: Town Offices, 7 Brattleboro Road — Friday, Sept. 2, 9 to 11 a.m.
■Montague: Town Hall annex meeting room, 1 Avenue A — Monday, Aug. 29, and Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Sept. 1, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
■New Salem: Town Hall at 15 South Main St. — 8 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 8 to 10 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 28, 4 to 6 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 29, 5 to 7 p.m.
■Northfield: Town Hall, 69 Main St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, through Friday, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
■Orange: Town Hall, 6 Prospect St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, and Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8 a.m. and noon and 1 to 7 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.
■Rowe: Conference Room at Town Hall, 321 Zoar Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
■Shelburne: Town Hall, 51 Bridge St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1 to 4 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
■Shutesbury: Town Hall, 1 Cooleyville Road — Saturday, Aug. 27, 1 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, through Thursday, Sept. 2, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■Sunderland: Town Offices, 12 School St. — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, and Wednesday, Aug. 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursday, Sept. 1, and Friday, Sept. 2, 8 a.m. to noon.
■Warwick: Town Hall, 12 Athol Road — Monday, Aug. 29, 1 to 4 p.m.
■Wendell: Town Office building, 9 Morse Village Road Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday, Sept. 2, 3 to 5 p.m.
■Whately: Town Offices, 4 Sandy Lane — Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30, through Thursday, Sept. 1, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com. Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.