Ed Flynn recommends Boston’s Election Dept. be placed under state receivership after ballot debacle

City Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution Wednesday recommending that Boston’s Election Department be placed under state receivership following its Election Day ballot shortage.

Voters in Hyde Park, Roslindale, West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain were delayed in casting their ballots after precincts ran out due to a strong turnout.

Boston police officers had to rush the extra ballots to the polling places.

Secretary of State William Galvin’s office said that “numerous polling locations throughout the City of Boston were not provided with a sufficient number of ballots for the election on Tuesday.”

Galvin called the debacle “unacceptable ” and announced on November 6 his office will investigate the city department.

“This indicates that the City did not originally deliver an appropriate supply of ballots to precincts in Boston, did not have adequate communication channels with the polling places, had no plan to deliver additional ballots as needed, and in a timely manner,” Galvin alleged in a letter addressed to Boston Election Commission Chair Eneida Tavares. “Although it appears that these locations ultimately received ballots, voters were subjected to unreasonable and unnecessary delays in exercising their franchise. This is unacceptable and contravenes the most fundamental principles of our democratic process.”

Eneida Tavares, Commissioner of the Boston Elections Department, told Boston 25 they will cooperate fully with the investigation.

“The City takes our responsibility to effectively administer free and fair elections extremely seriously as the cornerstone for democratic participation. It is completely unacceptable for voters to experience undue delay at the polls, as any barriers in the voting process can lead to disenfranchisement,” said Tavares. “The City has begun a full audit into the delays from ballot shortages at polling locations during yesterday’s election, and will work closely with the Secretary of State’s office to support the state’s investigation so that the findings can deliver needed improvements to our voting system.”

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