BOSTON — The secretary of state on Monday defended the electoral process and honor of his colleagues across the country and assailed the president for attacking the integrity of mail-in ballots.

 

He also said the Bay State is prepared to count an anticipated record number of ballots and have results available on Tuesday night.

 

William Galvin met with the media on Monday morning against a backdrop of questions being raised nationwide and in the White House about the process for choosing the president of the United States.

 

In particular, President Donald Trump on Sunday said it was "terrible" that not all ballots would be counted on Election Day.

 

Galvin noted that mail-in ballots in the commonwealth will be counted if postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 3, and received within three days of election day. Furthermore, Massachusetts residents who are serving in the military overseas whose ballots are cast by Tuesday will have their voices heard if their votes are received locally within 10 days of Tuesday.

 

"As one of our nation's senior election officials, I find the president's comments disturbing, appalling and really criminal," said Galvin, a Democrat. "Here in Massachusetts, it has been the practice for many, many years that members of the military, if they voted and had a ballot postmarked by the day of the election, would be counted even if it was received up to 10 days later.

 

"To suggest that somehow this is criminal or improper or illegal is disgraceful and criminal. These are people who serve our country. And to suggest that somehow they should be deprived of the right to vote because, somehow, through no fault of their own, their ballot is not received by the close of the polls, is unacceptable."

 

Galvin said he and Michelle Tassinari, the director of his office's Elections Division, are in regular communication with their counterparts around the country, and he has confidence in the process nationwide.

 

"Most election administrators, regardless of party, are honest people," Galvin said.

 

Here at home, he is anticipating 1.3 million ballots to be cast in person on Tuesday. Added to the 2.3 million ballots already cast either by mail, drop boxes at polling places or in person during the early voting period, he expects the total vote in Massachusetts to exceed 3.6 million, which would break 2016's record of 3.3 million, Galvin said.

 

"I base that on a number of factors," he said. "We've seen consistent increases in registration. We now have more than 4.8 million persons on our rolls. The number of inactive voters, which is included in that, has declined, which suggests a heavy level of interest."

 

In North Adams, nearly 4,000 voters have already cast ballots by mail or early in-person. 

 

Galvin said he expects a number of inactive voters -- those who have not participated in recent elections -- and unenrolled voters to show up on Tuesday, and that is not unusual in a presidential election.

 

The former, inactive voters, will need to provide more identification and sign an affidavit of continuous residency at their polling place, he said.

 

"Under federal laws, [unenrolled voters] are entitled to vote provisionally," Galvin said. "That means they're going to be given a ballot, which they'll be able to complete. But it will not be counted until their status is determined."

 

Galvin said he hopes local officials have a separate area of each polling place set aside to process inactive and unenrolled voters in order to reduce waiting times at the poll.

 

He also joined other Massachusetts officials Monday in reassuring the public that safety will be a priority for the commonwealth on election day.

 

"At this time we are aware of no specific or credible threats to election sites in Massachusetts," State Police Col. Christopher Mason said in a news release on Monday afternoon. "We continue to monitor all available intelligence and will maintain an enhanced operational posture for Election Day and beyond, and will be prepared to assist in any situations that arise in order to protect public safety and the rights of all our citizens."

 

Locally, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office will have someone to answer questions or hear complaints about any disruptions at the polls. 

 

Galvin described the safety precautions that will be in place at individual polling places.

 

"All in all, we can expect a very orderly day tomorrow," he said. "In Massachusetts, every polling location will have a police officer present. The purpose of the police officer is to keep order. It is our state law that you cannot engage in any political activity within 150 feet of the polling area.

 

"We believe these rules are very clear. We also believe they must be enforced and will be enforced."

 

Galvin said he has gotten assurances from the state leaders of both major parties that they will abide by the rules. And he explained that while those parties are entitled to have "observers" at the polling places, it is recommended that they identify themselves to the town and city clerks and other officials leading the balloting process.

 

"Observers cannot interact with voters at all," Galvin said. "They also may not roam the voting location. I've been assured by both state party chairs this will be the conduct observed by their observers. There also will be observers from independent civil rights groups, and we've been in touch with them."

 

As for the results of the vote that began weeks ago and concludes when the polls close on Tuesday at 8 p.m., Galvin said he expects to know the likely outcomes of major races in the commonwealth on election night.

 

That is not the same as saying voters will know the official numbers on election night. They will not, and they never have.

 

"All those figures will be unofficial," Galvin said, noting that mail-in ballots will be counted throughout the day on Tuesday. "They'll be determinative of the result, I believe, but not official."

 

Polls in Massachusetts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Find your local polling place in Berkshire County here or visit the secretary of state's website.