Boston voters can expect several changes to how the city will conduct its preliminary election Tuesday.
The city’s election practices have been overhauled after several polling locations ran out of ballots during the 2024 presidential election — leaving voters waiting in long lines and poll workers in a bind as their calls to the election department went unanswered.
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said his office has worked to “anticipate every scenario” to make this year’s election run smoother.
“We’ve taken precautions to make sure the circumstances that we saw happen last November do not happen again,” Galvin said.
A WBUR analysis found that at least 14 precincts ran out of ballots last November, which city officials said was due to human error. Boston’s election department was eventually put into a receivership after Galvin’s investigation found the city didn’t send out enough ballots and didn’t clearly communicate with poll workers.
For Tuesday’s election, Galvin said precincts will have enough ballots for every voter and extras in case voters make a mistake on their ballot and need a new one. On the ballot is the four-candidate mayoral race and several Boston city councilor races.
“We’re very confident all the ballots that will be necessary for the voters will be in place at the polling place,” Galvin said. “They will not have any risk of running out of ballots.”
The city’s election office will also be “very thoroughly staffed” to properly field calls from voters and poll workers, Galvin added. Poll workers will even have access to a separate direct line to election office staff to address any issues, according to Galvin.
“We’ll make sure that every person who has reason to call the election department is spoken to immediately, as soon as possible, and the problem is resolved,” he said.
The city is also expanding its use of electronic check-in devices known as “Poll Pads” across all 275 precincts in an effort to speed up the check-in process. Poll Pads have been used during early voting since 2016, but are new to Election Day. The city said the process should feel much the same for voters: they’ll still check in with a poll worker, get a ballot, fill it out, then cast a ballot as usual at a precinct.
Galvin said poll workers have also been given additional training and manuals to help address sudden issues that may come up — such as what to do if a voting machine jams.
The secretary said he believes the Boston Election Department is ready this election year given all of the changes that have been implemented.
“We’re very anxious for this to be successful and the procedures that we’ve employed to be effective,” he said. “And if that happens, that’ll help us offer with the November election as well.”
The best two vote-getters in the mayoral race and each of the city councilor races in Tuesday’s preliminary advance to the general election on Nov. 4.
The Boston Election Department will remain in a receivership until Galvin’s office is “satisfied” that all the problems have been resolved, he said. Tuesday’s election will be the first test of the city’s ability to effectively administer elections since the ballot fiasco last year.
“The sooner we can resolve Boston and feel comfortable that Boston is fine and be able to take care of its own affairs,” Galvin said, “we’ll be very happy to leave.”
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