State Election Tuesday

Vineyard voters go to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in a special statewide election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy, who died of cancer last August.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat and longtime Vineyard seasonal visitor, is running against Scott Brown, a Republican state senator from the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex district.

The race had been somewhat sleepy since Ms. Coakley won her party nomination in a crowded primary last month, but it woke up with a jolt last week after some polls showed Mr. Brown running much closer to Ms. Coakley than thought.

The race grew even more heated and even closer in the polls late this week; an eleventh hour series of debates saw the candidates sparring sharply on the issues. Ms. Coakley is a strong proponent of women’s rights, including abortion rights, and has a solid public service record as a government attorney. Mr. Brown, also an attorney, is a lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts Army National Guard and a moderate conservative who opposes the national health care reform legislation.

There is also an independent candidate in the race: Joseph L. Kennedy, a member of the Libertarian party who is no relation to the late Senator Kennedy.

In Chilmark, voters also will be asked in a special town election to decide whether to exempt a $2 million bond from the provisions of Proposition 2 1/2; the money will be used to build three affordable housing rental duplexes at Middle Line Road.

Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every town. Polling places on the Island are as follows:

Aquinnah, old town hall; Chilmark, Chilmark Communty Center; Edgartown, town hall selectmen’s meeting room; Oak Bluffs, public library; Tisbury, American Legion Hall; West Tisbury, public safety building.