Published in the February 24, 2016 edition

 By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Voters will be heading to the polls and casting ballots in the Massachusetts Presidential Primary on Tuesday, March 1.

Residents from the town’s four precincts will be casting ballots at Lynnfield High School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to Town Clerk Trudy Reid, there are 8,996 residents eligible to vote in the Massachusetts Presidential Primary.

“I am expecting a high turnout,” said Reid.

According to Reid, there are 5,429 “unenrolled” voters in town. Unenrolled is the legal designation for so-called “independent” voters in Massachusetts. Unenrolled voters are eligible to vote in the respective Democratic, Republican, Green-Rainbow and United Independent Party primaries.

There are 1,754 registered Republicans and 1,746 registered Democrats in Lynnfield. Additionally, 36 voters are registered in the United Independent Party and three voters are registered in the Green-Rainbow Party.

Massachusetts will be one of 13 states holding either a primary or a caucus on March 1, commonly referred to as “Super Tuesday.” In addition to Massachusetts, the other states that will be holding primaries or caucuses are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado (caucuses), Georgia, Minnesota (caucuses), Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming (caucuses).

There are 13 names on the Republican ballot, but the number of GOP candidates actively in the race for president has been whittled down to five following the results of the Iowa Caucuses, New Hampshire Presidential Primary and South Carolina Presidential Primary. The five remaining GOP candidates in the race are businessman Donald Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Ohio Governor John Kasich, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Although still on the ballot, the following candidates have suspended or outright ended their campaigns: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, former New York Governor George Pataki, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Three candidates will be appearing on the Democratic ballot. Two of those names need no introduction at this point: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The third is Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, a San Diego businessman who announced his candidacy last October and got his name on the ballot here and elsewhere. De La Fuente received 95 votes in the New Hampshire primary.

In addition to Sanders, Clinton and De La Fuente, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will also be appearing on the Democratic ballot even though he left the race a few weeks ago.

There are five candidates who will be appearing on the Green-Rainbow Party ballot. These candidates are Sedinam Curry, Jill Stein, William P. Kreml, Kent Mesplay and Darryl Cherney.

Massachusetts has the United Independent Party as well, but there are no candidates for president or any other officer or town committee on the ballot. According to Reid, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin recently warned thousands of Massachusetts voters enrolled in the UIP that they are not really unenrolled voters and therefore won’t be able to vote in the Democratic, Republican or Green-Rainbow Party primaries.

The United Independent Party earned official status as a party in Massachusetts in 2014 when Evan Falchuk, who was running for governor, won 3.3 percent of the vote.

Concerned about confusion on election day, Galvin mailed a notice to all Massachusetts voters registered in the UIP that they are registered in a minor party not to be confused with being an independent voter and that Wednesday, Feb. 10, was the final day for voters to register to vote in the upcoming state primary or to change their party status.

Additional candidates

In addition to the presidential candidates, the Republican and Democratic ballots include candidates for State Committeeman and State Committeewoman for the Third Essex District.

Stephen Zykofsky of Lynn is running unopposed on the ballot for Republican State Committeeman. Amy Carnevale of Marblehead is running unopposed for Republican State Committeewoman.

On the Democratic ballot, Robert Fennell of Lynn is running unopposed for Democratic State Committeeman. There are no candidates running for Democratic State Committeewoman.

There are 33 candidates for the Republican Town Committee. They are: Robert MacKendrick, Donald Pescione, S. Kendall Inglese, Douglas Soderberg, Frances Soderberg, Reid Lavoie, Michael Pescione, Richard Mazzola, Harry LeBlanc, V. Alicia LeBlanc, Brian Murphy, Jennifer Welter, Beth Hooper, Anthony Baldini, David Basile, James Chisholm, Teresa Chisholm;

As well as, Philip Crawford, Jodene Sanford, Kevin O’Connor, William H. Round (82 Main St.), Josephine Farnsworth, Alan Kent Dresios, Victor Antolini, William H. Round (12 Priscilla Road), Robert Michael Whalen, Paula Parziale, John H. Kimball Jr., Luke Kimball, Evelyn Round, Margaret Markham, Joseph Kochocki and Elizabeth Ann Kent. There are also two spaces available for write-in candidates.

There are 17 candidates running for Democratic Town Committee: Philip Buchek, Kerry Haughney, Joseph Haughney, Joseph Markey, James Fox, Nancy Fox, Anne Patriquin, Wallace McKenzie Jr., Susan Cotter McDonough, Martha Dwyer, SaraRuth Richman, Pamela Cornell Buchek, Peter Perlmutter, Malka Travaglini, Robert Casoli Jr., Phyllis Trippe and Mark McDonough. There is also a space for one write-in candidate.