🗳️😍 He’s a 6 but ... votes in the primary

🗞️📚 Yet another reason to get a library card. As if your library card didn’t have enough Boston freebies, the Globe has teamed up with the BPL to give cardholders 72-hour digital passes to Globe.com. Translation: Unlimited, paywall-free articles. Passes will be available daily on a first-come, first served basis on the BPL’s website. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

You’ve researched the candidates and made your voting plan. Now, there’s nothing left to do but cast! That! Ballot! 

Today is Boston’s municipal primary election. Here’s everything you need to know to cast your vote:

🤔 Still not sure who’s on the ballot? ICYMI: We gave you the lowdown yesterday. But, TL;DR: This election will whittle down the fields to determine which candidates for mayor and City Council will appear on the *official* November ballot — and there are a couple pretty spicy races. You can find information about all the candidates here.

📮 Voted early or by mail? You’re good! You can sit back and relax with the knowledge that voting in a local election makes you a major hottie.

🗳️ Voting IRL today? Here’s what to do:

📲 You might notice some changes at the polls. Namely, these snazzy “Poll Pads” to help voting run more smoothly. They’ve been used in early voting since 2016, but are now rolling out across all 275 precincts as part of Boston’s election department overhaul. The pads will make check-in quicker and allow poll workers to track turnout in real time and communicate directly with the elections department (you shouldn't notice any changes in the ballot-casting process).

😬 Speaking of that overhaul … ICYMI: Boston’s elections department has been taken over by the state after a major snafu during the 2024 Presidential election. But you can rest easy knowing that state officials are confident this election will go off without a hitch. Besides the poll pads, polls will be stocked with ballots for *every* voter, and poll workers are equipped with extra training, manuals, and a direct line to the elections department.

🏆 Then, just sit back and watch the results roll in. The city will post all the results here, or you can check the Associated Press for results on the mayoral race. Results should start trickling in within a few hours of the polls closing. We’ll be back tomorrow to break down all the juicy results.

💬 Any other questions? The city should have answers here. 

🚇 MBTA riders, you’ve evaded your last fare. At least, if the MBTA’s new team of fare engagement representatives has anything to say about it. The blue shirt-clad, 15-person squad started doling out fines to MBTA fare evaders this week. The team will be fanned out across the whole system, on the lookout for those sneaking through behind a friend (you know who you are). If caught, a rep will take your ID or contact info. First offenses get a warning, and after that, fines are either $50 or $100. $2.40 isn’t sounding so bad now … 

🚨 ICE’s immigration crackdown is back in Mass. The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that ICE is kicking off another surge of immigration enforcement called “Patriot 2.0” as part of a larger move to sweep so-called "sanctuary cities.” A similar sweep in May resulted in over 1,500 arrests — half without a criminal record, and only 4% had been convicted of violent crimes, according to the Globe. Unsurprisingly, local officials aren’t into it: Gov. Healey took to MSNBC to slam the crackdown, and Mayor Wu issued a statement.

📦 The biggest Allston Christmas mess was … in Southie? Allston might be the holiday’s namesake, but according to city data, Southie saw over four times the number of trash complaints during this year’s Allston Christmas season: 151 complaints between Sept. 1 and 3, compared to just 34. In fact, Allston didn’t even crack the top five for most complaints per neighborhood. Instead, Southie, the South End, and Beacon Hill took the top three spots. Sooo … does this mean the rats are moving to Southie, too?

⚽ Want 2026 World Cup tickets? You gotta act NOW. ICYMI: The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to Boston (OK, Foxborough), and the first round of early ticket sales starts TOMORROW. Phase one is a lottery for Visa Cardholders. If that’s you, you can make a FIFA ID and enter the draw between Sept. 10 and 19. Then, starting Sept. 29, randomly chosen fans will be assigned a date and time to nab tickets (though, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll get them), which range from $60 to … $6,000+ *sobs*.

If you thought #RushTok wasn’t in New England … just you wait. For the uninitiated, RushTok is the corner of TikTok dedicated to rushing sororities, mostly at big, Southern schools. And it’s INTENSE. 

Think: $10,000 OOTDs, professional-level dance videos, and $5,000 rush “consultants” who, much like college counselors, are hired to help girls get into the sorority of their dreams. And New England girlies aren’t immune.

Not only are they going South for college, they’re shelling out for said rush consultants, according to the Globe, who teach them how to “be the cute girl, not the cool girl,” by avoiding the “five B’s” (boys, Biden, bucks, booze, and the Bible), curating their Instagrams, picking outfits, and practicing small talk. 

You can dive into the wild world of New England RushTok here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

👭 Thanks for reading! It also doesn’t hurt to be able to do this. 

💸 The results are in: 49% of readers say they feel “money dysmorphia” constantly. One reader said: “These Boston influencers make me feel like I have to brunch and go out for every meal. How can you live here and eat out here all the time?”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].