Despite Historic Nature Of Boston's Mayoral Race, Low Voter Turnout Expected

BOSTON (CBS) - Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi-George have turned up the energy as the two candidates head into the homestretch of their race to be the first woman elected mayor of Boston.

They are hoping to blow up predictions of weak voter turnout. Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin expects 135,000 ballots to come in by 8 p.m. and he says that's low.

"For whatever reason, I guess no one is terribly frightened by the prospect of either of the finalists becoming mayor, or terribly excited," he said.

"We will push until the polls close to make sure the energy that we see out in the community matches turnout and matches the excitement for where we're headed in the future," said Wu at an event in Chinatown Monday. She has taken the lead in pre-election polls, and visited a coffee shop with well-known Massachusetts progressive, Senator Elizabeth Warren, earlier in the day.

Essaibi-George hit businesses and doorsteps on a 24-hour sweep through midnight and into Monday, saying turnout is important for the city.

"When I think about leading the city, when I think about the work of being mayor, it's not just during those traditional hours of nine to five, or seven to seven, or whatever it is. It's really about representing the entire city," she said.

She distanced herself from negative campaign ads popping up against Wu, who herself said there's no room for division, even as the race gets competitive. "Boston deserves so much better," she said.

In the preliminary election in September, there was a delay getting the results, that stretched into the next morning. This time, election officials say they have extra staff helping, and plan to get numbers out sooner, but they say there are no guarantees.