By Bob Katzen

Voters who have not already voted by mail now have an option to cast an early vote in-person in their local city and town until August 28. This is the first time early voting has been available for a state primary rather than just a general election in Massachusetts.

In addition, voters who have not yet mailed back their mail-in ballots can still mail them in, but Secretary of State Bill Galvin encourages them at this late date to hand-deliver their ballots to their local early voting site in order to ensure they reach their local election office by the deadline of 8 p.m. on September 1.

“If you are able to do so, the best way to ensure that your ballot is counted is to deliver it in person,” Galvin said. “Ballots can be returned to early voting sites, newly-created ballot drop boxes, and local election offices. Voters this year have more options for returning their ballots than ever before.”

Early voting schedules and locations for each community are posted at http://www.MassEarlyVote.com and the location of any drop boxes in your city or town are at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele