State Planning Failures Disenfranchise Voters

As Election Protection volunteers identified on Election Day, multiple polling places in Boston—including Hyde Park and Roslindale—completely ran out of ballots.

This colossal planning failure on the part of the Secretary of State’s Office, which is responsible for overseeing elections in Massachusetts, resulted in significant disenfranchisement, particularly in Boston’s communities of color. When alerted to these issues and urged to protect voters by extending voting hours, the Secretary’s Office refused.

This systemic failure should never be allowed to happen again in Massachusetts. There is absolutely no excuse for running out of ballots at polling sites on Election Day. Secretary Galvin must now be transparent with constituents across the state about how this failure happened, when he knew it was happening, who was affected, and what the state is doing to prevent it from happening again.

Election Protection volunteers helped countless voters overcome obstacles to the franchise on Election Day. Lawyers for Civil Rights will continue to press for answers on this ballot shortage scandal and will not rest until all voters are enfranchised.