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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city will work with the Secretary of the Commonwealth's plan to overhaul the city's election department.
Secretary William Galvin ordered the shift after Boston did not have enough ballots at several polling places during the 2024 Presidential Election. This forced the city to have to rush extra ballots to polling places using a police escort, but many residents did not end up voting at all because they did not have time to wait.
"This was an unacceptable lapse in terms of ballots not being available when residents needed them," Mayor Wu said. "This is one of the most fundamental charges of government to administer fair and free elections."
The secretary's report found the Boston Election Department did not have clear enough communication systems with polling places, did not properly train poll workers on what to do in these situations, and was not conducting regular check-ins at polling places.
As a result of this report, Secretary Galvin appointed a receiver to oversee the next two elections in the city. This year voters will be deciding on their next Mayor and City Council, while in 2026 they'll be voting for congressional representatives. Mayor Wu said the city will cooperate with the secretary's plan.
"We have worked with the secretary's office and had very clear and ongoing collaboration in terms of suggesting and drafting the corrective actions that will take place to ensure that that specific challenge never happens again," Mayor Wu said. "But also to separately work to modernize the department overall."
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.