Framingham adds 24/7 police monitoring of ballot drop boxes

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — One Massachusetts city is taking additional steps to secure its ballot drop boxes after a mail ballot drop box in Boston with 122 ballots inside was set on fire early Sunday in what officials called a “deliberate attack.”

The city clerk in Framingham announced Monday that police officers will be stationed near the city’s two ballot drop boxes “to thwart any potential threat to tamper with the boxes and election ballots.” Though the boxes are already monitored by surveillance cameras, city clerk Lisa A. Ferguson said officers will monitor them 24 hours a day, until the polls close on Election Day and the box is emptied by election officials.

The city’s drop boxes are located at the McAuliffe Library on Water Street, and the Memorial Building at 150 Concord St.

Ferguson said the boxes are emptied multiple times per day by the staff from the city clerk’s office and Framingham police. Ballots are stored in a fireproof vault at City Hall.

The FBI and Boston police are still searching for the individual seen in surveillance footage setting fire to the drop box near the Boston Public Library. Of the 122 ballots inside when it was emptied Sunday morning, 87 of them were still legible and able to be processed.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin asked officials to increase security for ballot drop boxes following the fire, including the use of guards and video surveillance, along with emptying the boxes more frequently.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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