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Galvin orders overhaul of Boston election practices
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin has ordered Boston to "overhaul" its election practices after polling locations ran low — and in some cases ran out — of ballots on Election Day in 2024.
Monday's order also included findings from his office's investigation into the reported shortages. Beyond the apparent ballot shortfalls, investigators said the city did not communicate clearly with workers in polling stations, which led to disenfranchising some voters.
“A major problem that was evident was the inability of the Boston Election Department to directly communicate, in real time, with each voting precinct in order to determine and prioritize those locations that had run out of ballots or had an immediate need for additional ballots,” investigators wrote in the report.
Boston election officials have said "human error" led to the shortfalls, which affected at least 14 polling locations during the November election according to a WBUR analysis. They also said they plan to send all ballots to the polling locations moving forward, rather than keeping some in reserve.
Galvin's order outlined several areas to address, including:
- Boston polling locations must be given "a number of ballots equal to the number of registered voters for that polling place," before polls open for the day.
- A plan to make sure city election workers and poll workers can communicate in real time during Election Day.
- Designate a team of election officials to contact every polling location and collect information on "voter turnout, ballot supply status, voting machine issues and any other significant matters affecting the election." That may include going to a polling location if workers can't be reached otherwise.
- Develop training for precinct wardens and poll workers.
- Develop plans "concerning pre-election preparation, election day administration andpost-election day issues."
Galvin will also assign someone to review the city's plan and monitor its implementation. That monitor will remain in place until the 2026 state elections, and could be extended if needed.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
