Local News

Here’s how Boston’s elections will change after last year’s problems

The department is introducing electronic tablets and other Election Day changes to ensure smooth voting across 275 precincts.

Entrance to the City of Boston's election department on August 26, 2025 in Boston City Hall. David L Ryan/The Boston Globe

By Molly Farrar

September 1, 2025

2 minutes to read

After months under state receivership, Boston’s election department will make changes ahead of the mayoral preliminary vote next week to make sure Election Day goes smoothly.

Last year, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin ordered an overhaul of the Boston Election Commission after an investigation found it failed to provide enough ballots to polling places and exhibited serious communications issues during last November’s election. Extra ballots were rushed to polling places on election night via police cruisers.

Galvin appointed a designee in February to oversee the mayoral election process through the end of 2026; the order could potentially be extended.

In August, the department committed a clerical error and sent at least one voter more than one mail-in ballot. At the time, a spokesperson for Galvin confirmed that no voter will be able to cast two ballots for the Sept. 9 preliminary municipal election for mayor and city council.

To remedy issues plaguing city elections, officials are expanding the use of Poll Pads, an electronic check-in device, across all 275 precincts. The Poll Pads are “new to Election Day,” the department said in a release Friday, but have been used in early voting since 2016.

“This upgrade will speed up the check-in process and enhance communication with the Election Department,” the release said. “The voting process for voters remains the same: you will check in with a poll worker, receive a paper ballot, mark your vote, and cast it as usual.”

Speaking to The Boston Globe, Galvin described “insulating the process” from the mayor’s office, while emphasizing that he “is not accusing (Boston Mayor Michelle Wu) of anything.”

“It’s been a much more intensive exercise than I envisioned.. There are internal things that suggest there could be bigger problems,” Galvin told the Globe. “The mayor’s office is not running the election department. I am.”

The city has also created a dedicated line with volunteers for poll workers to call with day-of problems, the Globe reported, and the city plans to distribute enough ballots to cover 110 percent of registered voters.

A city spokesperson said that Boston “is grateful” for Galvin’s work. The elections department “made process improvement and management changes,” including reorganizing the department to the People Operations and Administration cabinet, which oversees human resources and labor relations.

“This change has provided the Elections Department with increased operational, administrative, and records-keeping support with continued assistance from the Law Department,” the spokesperson said.