Why some Massachusetts communities are closing their ballot drop boxes for Halloween night
"There is increased concern over attempts to interfere with ballots and ballot drop boxes, malicious or otherwise."
After a ballot drop box in Boston was set on fire last weekend, some Massachusetts cities and towns are closing their drop boxes for Halloween night.
“There is increased concern over attempts to interfere with ballots and ballot drop boxes, malicious or otherwise, as evidenced by a recent attack on a drop box in the City of Boston,” Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office said in a directive earlier this week to local election officials, adding that “we are particularly concerned with potential damage that may arise on Saturday, October 31st.”
The directive says that local election officials should empty and lock drop boxes by 5 p.m. Saturday until Sunday morning if they are unable to provide “personal security” throughout Halloween evening. The directive adds that video surveillance is not sufficient.
Boston announced Friday that it had chosen to close all 17 of its drop boxes at 5 p.m. for the night. And several other communities, including Lowell, Melrose, Salem, Somerville, Watertown, Wellesley, and Weston, have announced similar plans.
The state has asked that for #Halloween tomorrow, ballot dropboxes are emptied and locked by 5 p.m. until Sunday morning because of security concerns. If you plan to drop off your ballot this weekend, please do so tomorrow morning or Sunday: https://t.co/Yjcyzshjul #2020election pic.twitter.com/daJSOrBSBj
— City of Boston (@CityOfBoston) October 30, 2020
The precautionary measure comes after a 39-year-old “emotionally disturbed’ man was charged for setting a drop box in Boston’s Copley Square on fire, damaging several nearly three dozen ballots, including five to 10 that were unreadable. The incident prompted Galvin to advise communities to boost drop box security with guards and video surveillance, and empty them more frequently.
Besides the Boston incident, Galvin’s office said Saturday that they are unaware of any other attempts to interfere with drop boxes in Massachusetts.
It wasn’t immediately clear Saturday how many communities would employ security in order to keep their drop boxes open. Local officials are required post a notice on their
website and on the box itself if they decide to close them Saturday night.
“Voters should check with their local election officials, as it’s a local decision,” Deb O’Malley, a spokeswoman for Galvin’s office, told Boson.com in an email Saturday. “If the drop box is closed tonight, it will be open again tomorrow morning through 8 p.m. on Tuesday.”
According to Galvin’s office, close to half of all registered Massachusetts voters had already cast their ballot through expanded early and mail-in voting by Friday.
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