Post-election report shows accessibility, ballot and registration issues

There were 50 incidents on Election Day that hampered the ability of people with disabilities to vote in Massachusetts, according to a report issued Wednesday by a commission of several voting rights groups.

Voting assistance machines for those with disabilities broke down, while main entrances and exits to some precincts could only be accessed by stairs, according to the report issued by the Massachusetts Election Protection Coalition. Four polling places in Boston had a shortage of ballots.

“Democracy shouldn’t be available on a first-come, first-served basis,” said Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, which is part of the coalition.

Deb O'Malley, spokeswoman for Secretary of State William Galvin's office, said the disability issues were not reported to their office and they are interested in addressing complaints. She said each polling place is surveyed for accessibility at least once.

The coalition recommended the state conduct accessibility audits of each voting location every four years.

The report also said tabulation machines jammed or broke in Peabody, Springfield, Lowell, Boston and Malden.

Peabody's city clerk said some ballots that were torn or in poor condition got stuck, but the problems were handled immediately. Springfield's election commissioner said its tabulators jammed briefly when voters accidentally tried to insert both pages into the tabulator at the same time. And a Lowell election official said any issues they had were addressed.

Election officials from Boston and Malden did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.

The report also found that more than 150 people who were otherwise eligible to vote were turned away from the polls because they missed the state's registration deadline, which is 10 days before the election.

"The challenges identified by our volunteers — such as ballot shortages and accessibility barriers — show that while we did our job on Election Day, systemic reforms like same-day registration are essential to guaranteeing every voter can exercise their right to vote," said MassVOTE Executive Director Cheryl Clyburn Crawford. "It’s time for Massachusetts to strengthen its democracy and remove these unnecessary obstacles.”

The coalition supports changing the state law to allow registration on Election Day.

Galvin has supported same-day registration in recent years, but the measure has never gained traction from Beacon Hill lawmakers.

Galvin's office launched an investigation of Boston’s ballot storages the day after the election and has since conducted preliminary interviews with city officials, O'Malley said.

He previously said polling locations in Hyde Park, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain, and one location in Dorchester, had a shortage of ballots. Galvin ordered the city to send more ballots to those locations and police eventually delivered them. He said the department showed poor planning, and didn't properly communicate or respond to poll workers and his office when they tried to reach out. He said his office may take over management of the Boston Elections Commission.

Foster, who didn't suspect intentional wrongdoing, said, “This has to be the last election in the history of the commonwealth of Massachusetts where we are knowingly leaving so many voters behind.”

The post-election report is based on observations by some 400 volunteers in the field and complaints to a toll-free hotline.