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Janey, Boston Election Officials Want To Add More Than A Dozen New Polling Places

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey and city elections officials aim to redraw Boston's voting maps.

The Boston Globe reported on a plan from the city that would add more than a dozen new precincts in rapidly growing neighborhoods.

Janey is currently running for mayor. The plan would not take effect until after this year's election.

Advocates say new polling places in the city are overdue and would reduce wait times at the polls in densely populated areas like Chinatown and the Seaport.

Boston has long been exempt from a Massachusetts law requiring cities and towns to reexamine their precincts each decade.

The city's early plans come as several GOP-led states move to adopt laws restricting voter access to the alarm of voting rights advocates.

As NPR reports, Texas — which already held some of the strictest voting rules in the U.S. — will, after a bitter fight, likely become the latest state to pass restrictive voting rules in the wake of the 2020 elections.

And this Saturday, thousands of activists are expected to protest in Washington over voter access, marking the 58th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.

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