Bay State News

The Massachusetts Election Protection Program Steering Committee has released a report analyzing voting conditions during the 2024 presidential election in Massachusetts. The report, based on data from field and poll monitor volunteers, highlighted several barriers to voting. These included a ten-day voter registration blackout period, issues with disability and physical accessibility, malfunctioning tabulators, and ballot shortages at polling locations in Boston.

On Election Day, over 400 nonpartisan Election Protection volunteers were deployed across 140 polling locations in 30 municipalities within nine counties. The volunteers identified various issues affecting voters' access to the polls. Among these were 156 eligible voters who could not vote due to missing the registration deadline of October 26. Additionally, there were more than 50 incidents related to disability voting and accessibility problems such as broken AutoMARK machines and insufficient handicapped parking spaces.

Other reported issues included 14 instances of jammed or broken ballot tabulation machines and significant ballot shortages at four Boston polling places during the afternoon of Election Day.

In response to these challenges, the analysis recommends that the Massachusetts State Legislature consider adopting Same Day Registration. This would allow voters to register or update their registration on the day they vote.

Geoff Foster, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts, stated: “Democracy shouldn’t be available on a first-come, first-served basis... It’s one more reason why it’s time we join the 20-plus other states with same day registration.”

Traci Griffith from ACLU of Massachusetts emphasized: “Ensuring the future of democracy requires us to safeguard our right to vote today... There are reforms that Massachusetts can adopt to improve its democratic process.”

Shanique Rodriguez of MA Voter Table noted that marginalized communities are often most affected by electoral barriers: “That is why we were proud to be a part of the Election Protection coalition again this year.”

Cheryl Clyburn Crawford from MassVOTE highlighted systemic reforms like same-day registration as essential for ensuring every voter can exercise their right: “It’s time for Massachusetts to strengthen its democracy and remove these unnecessary obstacles.”

The coalition also provided support through a national nonpartisan voter assistance hotline operated by Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

For further details on this analysis, readers are encouraged to access the full report online.