►
Description
Docket #0643 - Hearing to Explore Preparation for the Upcoming 2020 Elections in September and November
A
C
A
All
right
good
afternoon,
everyone,
I'm
city
council,
lady
edwards,
chair
of
the
committee
on
government
operation.
It
is
wednesday
october
14th
and
we're
here
today
on
a
virtual
working
session
on
docket
0643
order
for
our
hearing
to
explore
preparation
for
the
upcoming
2020
elections
in
september
and
november.
Councilor
natalie
is
the
sponsor
of
this
docket,
and
it
was
referred
to
the
committee
on
april
15
2020..
A
The
committee
held
a
hearing
on
this
matter
on
may
15th
in
a
working
session
on
august
6th,
in
accordance
with
governor
baker's
executive
order,
we're
modifying
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
to
balance
both
the
safety
needs
and
also
the
ability
for
us
to
do
our
jobs.
You
can
the
public
may
watch
this
meeting
via
live
stream
at
www.boston.gov
city
dash
council
dash
tv.
It
will
also
be
rebroadcasted
at
a
later
date
on
comcast
8
rcn82
verizon
1964.
A
written
comments
may
be
sent
to
the
committee
email
at
pcc.go
at
boston.gov.
The
purpose
of
this
dock
is
to
ensure
that
the
upcoming
elections
provide
safe
ways
for
people
to
vote.
At
the
hearing
we
discussed
all
of
the
preparation.
We
then
had
a
subsequent
working
session
in
advance
of
the
primaries,
and
today
we're
going
to
have
another
working
session
in
advance
of
our
general
elections.
A
A
I
wanted
to
thank
those
in
attendance
from
the
administration
we
have
commissioner
ineva
inaida
tavera
from
the
boston
election
department
and
sabina
pamonte,
who
is
the
assistant
registrar
and
I'm
also
joined
by
my
colleague,
counselor
o'malley,
counselor
liz,
braden,
counselor,
bach,
counselor,
mejia
and
also
counselor
arroyo
in
just
making
sure
I'm
like
counselor
rojo
in
we're
gonna,
do
some
very
brief
opening
remarks.
We
don't
expect
this
to
be
a
long
hearing,
but
we
do
we're
all
excited
about
hearing
about.
A
D
D
D
As
you
know,
and
perhaps
those
watching
know,
the
purpose
of
this
hearing
really
came
from
watching
images
out
of
the
wisconsin
presidential
primary
at
the
end
of
april
of
this
year,
where
you
had
what
was
typically
150
or
so
voting
locations
were
diminished
to
fewer
than
10,
because
they
were
unable
to
be
staffed.
You
had
people
standing
in
line
really
at
the
nader
of
the
pandemic
for
hours
on
ends
and
even
now
we're
seeing
some
exceptionally
long
lines
for
early
votes
in
other
states.
D
So
the
purpose
of
this
was
to
make
sure
that
we
were
doing
could
do
and
would
plan
for
every
scenario
imaginable
as
it
relates
to
allowing
people
to
vote
safely
freely.
Voting
by
mail
was
another
sort
of
impetus,
driving
force
and,
and
I've
been
really
gratified
to
see
the
state
following
the
lead
of
many
in
boston
and
their
calls
for
having
more
vote
by
mail
opportunities
as
well
as
in
increased
early
voting,
as
well
as
obviously
every
safety
protocol
imaginable.
So,
commissioner,
again,
you
and
your
team
really
did
some
great
work.
D
The
purpose
of
this
working
session
is
just
to
see
what
changes
will
be
coming
down
the
pike
for
the
november
election.
Obviously,
I
think
we'll
probably
anticipate
more
than
double
turnout
from
what
the
state
primary
was,
which
was
in
and
of
itself
an
exceptionally
healthy
turnout,
one
of
the
highest
primary
turnouts.
Certainly
in
my
lifetime
and
many
others
is
also.
I
know
my
colleagues
and
I
will
have
some
questions
on
other
safety
protocols
as
it
relates
to
simply
making
it
easier
and
more
efficient
for
more
people
to
vote.
D
But
I
didn't
want
to
begin
this
working
session
without
acknowledging
commissioner,
the
great
work
of
you
and
your
team.
It
was
an
exceptionally
difficult
undertaking
and
you
did
it
with
a
plum
and
grace,
and
you
should
you
and
your
team
should
really
be
commended.
So
thank
you
for
that.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
E
E
E
I
think,
in
the
midst
of
all
that
people
sometimes
get
confused,
and
so
the
more
that
we
can
use
this
hearing
to
focus
in
on
on
how
we
get
spread
the
word
about
the
ways
for
people
to
vote
and
then
thinking
about
how
down
the
line
we
use
this
election
and
a
really
hard
situation
to
learn
how
to
make
voting
more
accessible
for
everyone
in
every
year.
So,
thank
you,
madam
chair.
C
Go
for
it
yeah!
Okay!
Thank
you.
Madam
chair.
I
want
to
thank
the
folks
at
the
elections
department
and
commissioner
tavares
for
all
the
great
work
we
are
already
seeing
the
fruits
of
your
labors
in
the
early
preparation
for
the
the
election.
I
just
got
this
in
the
in
the
mail,
the
other
day
about
early
voting
locations
and
dropbox
locations,
and
a
lot
of
the
issues
that
we
raised
after
the
september
first
election
and
like
the
the
lack
of
not
enough
drop
boxes.
C
F
That's
probably
not
part
of
the
conversation,
but
I'm
just
gonna
like
throw
it
in
there
anyways,
just
because
I
feel
like
it's
a
voice
that
is
not
included
in
this
mix,
and
this
is
what
I
do
so.
I
do
have
some
questions
specifically
when
we
get
to
my
opportunity
to
ask
those
questions,
how
we
can
help
support
this
population.
G
H
Thank
you-
and
I
just
want
to
thank
you
for
the
work
that
you've
done
at
the
election
department,
where,
where
obviously
there's
a
bunch
of
new
things
that
they're
not
new
ideas
but
they're
new
to
massachusetts
that
we're
trying-
and
I
think,
we've
done
very
well
with
the
mail-in
ballots
in
terms
of
how
we
pulled
that
off
with
the
amount
of
time
that
we
had
to
pull
that
off.
And
so
thank
you
to
the
team
that
did
that.
H
Obviously
we're
looking
at
numbers
that
I'm
hoping
are
amongst
the
highest
we've
ever
seen
in
an
election
this
this
coming
month,
and
so
as
we
prepare
for
that.
I'm
just
very
interested
in
how
one
how
we
can
help
solidify
and
make
this
better
more
accessible
for
folks
to
vote
either
from
with
a
mail-in
ballot,
or
you
know,
early
vote
in
our
neighborhoods.
But
that's
that's
kind
of
the
angle
I'm
taking,
but
thank
you
for
all
the
work
that
you've
you've
done
on
this,
because
it
is
not
easy.
H
I
I
G
Thank
you
for
inviting
us
to
provide
this
update.
There
were,
as
you
can
imagine,
a
lot
of
lessons
learned
in
september
that
will
be
applied
to
the
november
election
in
september.
The
turnout
was
pretty
impressive.
We
had
a
35
turnout
in
september,
so
we
are
anticipating
a
higher
turnout
just
go
around,
so
we
do
appreciate
any
opportunity
that
we
have
to
get
the
communication
out
there
to
the
registered
voters
of
boston
so
that
we
can
counter
any
misinformation
that
is
out
there
currently.
So
thank
you
for
the
opportunity.
A
G
Do
have
numbers
in
terms
of
I
think
registration
is
pretty
much
the
same
if
we
fell
off
a
little
bit,
so
we
and
then
we
picked
up
again
so
we're
at
about
420
000
registered
voters
in
the
city
of
boston.
Previously
we
had
in
september
at
91
072
requests
for
vote
by
mail
ballots
and
of
those
totals
we
had
52
000
returned
another
10
886
residents
decided
to
show
up
in
person
during
the
early
voting
period
and
77
330
through
three
residents
voted
in
person
on
election
day.
G
We
are
currently
at
133,
817
requests
for
vote
by
mail
ballots
and
we
have
mailed
out
a
hundred
thousand
of
those
requests
so
far
and
we'll
be
working
diligently
throughout
the
week
rest
of
the
week
to
push
the
remaining
ballots
out.
So
that's
where
we
are
with
the
vote
by
mail
piece
right
now
and
we're
also
preparing
for
the
start
of
early
voting,
which
starts
on
saturday,
the
17th,
wonderful.
A
G
G
Now
so
I
believe
it's
mail
myballotma.com
or
they
can
simply
log
on
to
the
secretary
of
state's
website,
and
that
is
something
that
it
was
just
implemented
right
before
the
you
know
right
before
we
started
preparing
for
the
november
election
and,
if
anyone's
concerned,
about
their
request
not
getting
to
us
if
they
mailed
the
initial
request,
and
they
see
that
we
have
not
received
it
because,
there's
no
movement
on
the
tracker,
they
can
submit
it
electronically.
Now
it
will
first
prompt
them
to
verify
their
voter
registration
if
someone's
not
already
registered.
A
D
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
just
for
those
watching.
I
would
also
encourage
people
to
avail
themselves
to
visit.
Where
do
I
vote
ma.com
if
they're
looking
for
their
voting
location,
that's
that's
a
good
source
as
well
so
commissions.
I
have
questions
on
the
future,
but
just
to
sort
of
get
things
passed.
So
we
had
about
35
turnout
in
the
primary,
which
was
about
130,
000
or
so
voters
give
or
take
great
job
again,
that's
the
highest
for
a
primary
that
I've
seen.
D
I
think
it's
probably
safe
to
say
that
we
could
maybe
not
double
that,
but
certainly
get
to
the
mid
twos
250
275
000,
I'm
thinking
as
someone
who's
followed
this
for
a
while,
which
would
be
above
a
60,
perhaps
a
65
turnout
in
in
november,
which
would
be
astounding
and
again
it
shows
the
easier
we
make
it
for
people,
the
more
the
more
participatory
government.
We
will
have
a
truly
participatory
government.
D
G
That's
correct:
we
did
find
on
election
day
that
did
it
was
a
little
bit
of
a
challenge
in
the
morning.
A
lot
of
our
election
day.
Voters
were
people
who
requested
a
ballot.
So
yes-
and
I
imagine
it's
going
to
be
the
same
thing
for
november-
there
are
a
lot
of
people
who
are
anxious,
we're
trying
to
get
the
rest
of
the
bouts
out
of
the
mail
as
early
as
possible.
But
I
imagine
on
come
saturday
and
sunday,
a
lot
of
folks
are
going
to
take
advantage
of
the
early
voting
period.
D
So
just
so
I,
this
is
as
much
for
my
own
edification
as
it
is
as
a
as
a
nerd
who
follows
this
stuff.
If
you
request
an
absentee
ballot,
so
everyone
is
sent
has
been
mailed
now
twice.
In
some
cases,
an
application
for
an
absentee
ballot.
Every
registered
voter
every
active
registered
voter
has
been
mailed,
an
application
right,
that's
correct,
and
if
they
send
it
back,
then
the
like
you
will
furnish
them
with
a
bell.
D
But
if
they
don't,
if
they
decide
not
to
fill
out
that
ballot
and
send
it
in
or
drop
it
off,
they
will
still
have
the
ability
to
either
vote
early
or
vote
on
election
day.
So
in
in
that
case,
if
an
individual
who
has
requested
an
absentee
ballot
but
decides
that
he
or
she
wants
to
vote
in
person,
is
there
a
little
asterisk
next
to
his
or
her
name
when
they're
signing
in
that
a
ballot
has
been
requested,
but
not
returned.
D
Just
like,
with
the
you
know,
going
back
to
typical
absentee
ballot.
If
you
vote
early,
you
get
the
little
x
and
you
can't
vote
twice
and
sort
of
a
simple
but
but
fair
system
in
place.
So
we
don't
have
multiple
voters.
So
were
you
able
to
cross-reference
the
number
of
people
who
requested
an
absentee
ballot
and
didn't
in
one
of
the
91
000
people
who
requested
absentee
ballots,
not
the
60
000
or
nearly
60
000,
who
returned
those
ballots
but
of
those
31
000?
D
We
are
going
to
see
a
dramatic
increase,
so
we
can
see
of
those.
I
would
also
look
at
the
subset
of
those
91
000
applicants
to
see
who
wasn't
a
particularly
strong
border
before
who
didn't
vote
regularly,
because
I
think
you
will
absolutely
see
that
this
is
not
only
the
right
thing
to
do
to
preserve
a
democracy,
but
also
will
help
get
more
people,
but
it's
one
of
the
most
impactful
things
we
can
do
so.
Sixty
thousand
voted
by
mail.
How
many
voted
early
in
the
primary.
D
D
Okay,
so
it
wasn't
quite
an
even
split,
but
for
all
intents
and
purpose
it
is
fair
to
say
that,
because
of
these
three
options
for
voting,
roughly
half
of
the
voters
voted
in
person
on
election
day
and
the
other
half
either
voted
early
or
voted
by
mail.
But
not
an
exact
split
we're
talking
about
70
versus
77,
000
or
so
yeah.
And
then
I
guess
we
would
possibly
think
those
numbers
would
hold
true
for
november
other
than
the
fact
that
the
weather
is
going
to
be
colder
and
we
are
seeing
an
uptick
in
cases.
G
D
D
G
On
ballot
drop
boxes
across
the
city,
so
we've
included
15
additional
boxes
for
a
total
of
17..
Two
of
those
boxes
will
be
available
here
at
city
hall,
one
on
the
outside
on
the
third
floor
and
the
other
one
will
be
on
the
congress
street
side
outside
and
accessible
24
7..
The
other
15
locations
are
going
to
be
mainly
at
boston,
public
public
library
locations.
They
will
be
stationed
outside
and
accessible
24
7..
They
will
also
be
monitored
by
24-hour
surveillance.
G
We
have
one
site
in
roslindale
that
will
be
at
a
bcyf
site
simply
because
the
library
there
is
under
construction.
So
we
tried
to
be
consistent
about
the
location
that
we
are
using
and
they
are
going
to
be
accessible
outdoors
so
that
if
the
contact
was
method
for
them
to
return
their
ballot,
they
don't
have
to
go
into
a
building.
If
anyone
has
any
covert
related
concerns,
concerns
about
going
into
a
building.
D
G
So
that
was
one
of
the
lessons
from
the
september
primary
that
did
cause
an
issue
in
the
morning
and
we
get
we
were
getting
a
backlog
of
phone
calls
and
lines
were
forming
at
the
locations
because
everyone
was
calling
in
here.
So
we
did
double
check
with
secretary
of
state's
office
that
it
was
okay
to
forgo
that
process.
So
we
won't
be
requiring
that
process,
but
there
that
procedure
there
will
be
checks
and
balances
on
the
back
end
here.
E
Got
it
so
if
a
ballot
comes
in
late
enough
that
it
wouldn't
be
marked
on
the
poll
checkers,
then
you're
going
to
segregate
those
and
hold
them
just
until
you
have
the
comments.
Compare
the
two
lists.
Okay,
that
makes
a
ton
more
sense
to
me
yeah.
I
I
had
concerns
in
august
about
that
piece
of
the
puzzle,
so
glad
to
hear
it's
been
moved
away,
and
then
I
guess
another
question.
E
One
thing
I
heard
from
poll
workers
on
the
day
was
that
you
had
people
coming
in
with
you
know:
to
drop
off
their
ballots
at
polling
sites,
thinking
they
could
do
that
and
finding
out
they
couldn't
and
when
it
was
the
person
themselves.
It
was
totally
fine
because
they
could
just
spoil
the
ballot
and
cast
a
new
one
on
the
site
if
it
was
their
polling
place
right,
but
that
we
had
situations
where
people
were
bringing
the
ballots
to
their
family
members
in
their
own
respective
envelopes.
E
And,
of
course,
the
family
member
is
not
there
to
vote,
and
so
I
find
myself
wondering
whether
we
might
want
to
kind
of
proactively
prepare
like
map
and
guidance
for
our
poll.
Workers
about
these
are
the
nearest
drop
boxes
to
your
location,
because,
obviously,
in
september
the
only
dropbox
was
city
hall,
but
I
I
feel
like
if
that
happened
in
a
mission
hill
polling
place
like
if
someone
comes
to
the
tobin
community
center
with
their
ballot
on
election
day.
E
G
E
E
E
C
Braden.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
I
had
a
question
about,
and
my
colleagues
have
already
asked
many
of
my
questions.
If
you
mail
your
ballot
in
and
it
doesn't
arrive
before
election
day,
what
hardly
it
will
your
ballot
be
and
be
be
considered
encountered
if
you
mail
it
in
that
arrives
on
on
or
after
election
day,.
G
A
G
Well,
because
it
is
a
legislative
issue,
there's
not
really
much
that
we
can
do
in
terms
of
that
we
pre-covered
there
were
a
lot
of
advocacy
groups
that
worked
close
with
the
president
and
they
would
go
into
the
prison
and
actually
request
absentee
val
or
help
them
fill
out
absentee
ballot
requests.
We
can't
just
proactively
send
ballots
without
an
initial
request.
G
There's
a.
I
can't
remember
his
name
off
the
top
of
my
head.
I
know
that
he's
been
doing
a
lot
of
work
with
sheriff
thompson
to
make
sure
that
they
can
get
to
into
some
of
these
prisons
and
and
help
these
individuals
request
absentee
ballots.
But,
aside
from
that,
we
need
to
have
a
the
request
from
every
individual
before
before
we
can
distribute
any
ballots.
A
Okay,
so
there's
so
essentially
for
those
who
are
currently
incarcerated,
there
needs
to
be
a
direct
request
to
you
and
there
are
non-profits
that
are
working
to
get
those
requests
out
and
done,
but
is
there?
I
know
that,
for
example,
I
had
secretary
of
state
since
a
request,
if
you
will
to
my
house,
is
there
a
drop
off
at
all
for
houses
of
incarceration.
A
G
So
applications
for
vote
by
mail.
I
imagine
it
includes
every
single
registered
voter,
so
if
someone's
registered
from
the
president,
they
may
have,
but
that's
a
question
directly
for
them.
Since
the
mailer
came
from
them
as
to
whether
or
not
they
included
anyone
registered
as
out
of
prison
in
their
mailing.
G
G
A
H
So
many
of
my
questions
already
been
asked,
so
I
really
I'm
just
asking
in
terms
of
I'm
getting
a
lot
of
calls
from
constituents
about
if
I
get
my
ballot
like
what's
the
drop-off
date
that
I
should
stop
requesting
my
ballot
or
trying
to
find
it.
If
I
don't
have
it
in
my
in
my
mailbox
by
this
day,
I
should
make
steps
to
early
vote
or
vote
in
person.
What
is
the
date
for
that?
H
G
H
Okay,
so
that
I
guess,
is
there
no
cut
off
date
for
when,
if
you
don't
have
a
ballot
to
go,
because
the
issue
I
have
is
one
specific
constituent,
for
instance,
that
wouldn't
do
much
for
is
somebody
who
is
not
gonna,
be
in
the
city
around
that
time.
Normally
they
would
request
an
absentee
ballot,
but
they're
the
they're
asked
for
a
mail-in
ballot.
So
the
question
is:
if
they
get
the
mail
in
ballot
by
a
certain
date,
what
what
date
would
they
have
to
then
cancel
plans
and
come
in
and
vote
in
person.
G
I'm
we
are
messaging
that
everyone
give
should
give
themselves
seven
days
perfect,
especially
if
you,
especially
with
the
mailing
system,
you
want
to
make
sure
that
it
it's
seven
days
before
put
it
in
the
mail
seven
days,
even
though
we're
accepting
ballots
postmarked
by
november.
Third,
I
would
just
encourage
everyone
not
to
wait
that
late.
A
Thank
you,
counselor
maria.
We
have
counselor
sabe
george,
then
I
do
know.
The
mass
vote
alex
from
mass
vote
is
here
and
I
will
turn
it
over
to
him.
Looks
like
we've
just
been
joined
by
council
clarity
and
I
think,
and
I'm
not
sure,
there's
a
mr
tom
ready
also
might
be
in
the
public
who
may
have
also
some
questions
or
or
some
comments,
so
that'll
complete
our
whole
round.
Then
we'll
go
to
counselor
bobby
george,
then
counselor.
A
Clarity
who
just
joined
we'll
we'll
hit
up
the
through
math
vote
and
then
and
counselor
flynn
is
just
joined
as
well.
We'll
get
to
the
counselors
get
through.
Excuse
me,
the
mass
vote
comments
and
if
mr
reddy
or
anybody
from
the
public
has
a
comment
and
then
we'll
go
through
the
second
round,
is
that
okay,
council
o'malley.
I
Thank
you
again,
ma'am
chair
and
thank
you
to
council
o'malley
for
hosting
this
really
important
discussion
around
voting
during
this
time.
Voting
during
a
pandemic
voting
thinking
about
the
presidential
election
and
some
of
the
ballot
initiatives
that
are
before
us
this
year.
You
know
for
me
it's
about
access
to
voting
and
that
we
aren't
limiting
anyone's
ability
to
vote
when
they
need
to
and
how
they
need
to
vote
safely
and
that
we
are
able
to
share
the
information
properly
with
all
of
our
residents
across
the
city
of
boston
in
particular.
I
I
So
that's
it
for
me
just
sort
of
an
interest
in
heightened
awareness
around
in
increasing
and
making
sure
that
we
have
access
that
our
residents
are
safety
safe
when
they
vote
and
have
that
you
know
it's
a
safe
process
and
that
they
have
the
information
they
need
in
order
to
participate,
participate
in
our
election
coming
up.
So,
thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
thank
you
to
the
maker.
J
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
thank
you
to
the
lead
sponsor.
I
just
want
to
take
the
opportunity
to
give
a
a
shout
out
and
thank
you
obviously
to
to
the
commissioner
her
team,
particularly
sabino
pimanti.
I
know
during
the
primary
I
was
out
about
and
identified
and
got
received
calls
from
constituents
with
respect
to
some
conditions
that
really
around
the
polling
locations,
particularly
those
that
were
sort
of
thrust
into
making
the
change
at
the
last
minute
and
as
a
result
of
which
his
prompt
inappropriate
attention.
J
You
know,
I
know
we
still
get
a
few
weeks
left
to
go,
but
obviously
this
vote
is
important
to
them.
So
what
can
I
tell
folks
that
several
weeks
ago
have
requested
a
mail-in
ballot
as
to
when
they
will
receive
that
ballot
and,
in
one
particular
instance,
I
believe
they
had
directed
that
ballot
to
their
parents
home?
I
believe
it
was
up
in
new
hampshire
because
of
their
work
scheduled.
They
did
not
want
to
lose
the
ballot,
so
they
want
to
make
sure
that
that
ballot
arrived
safely.
J
They
had
concerns
about
what
they
were
reading
and
reports
that
they
were
seeing
and
more
than
national
news,
with
respect
to
some
of
the
mailed
out
ballots,
not
getting
the
air
etc
and
turning
up
in
parks
and
muddy
rivers,
etc.
So
I
guess
the
question
is:
is
what's
the
what's
the
protocol
right
now?
If
we
continue
to
get
phone
calls
from
constituents
that
have
asked
for
a
a
ballot,
a
mail-in
ballot
and
they
still
haven't
received
it?
When
do
they
really
need
to
start
hitting
the
panic
button
prior
to
the
election.
G
If
they
haven't
received
their
ballot
by
next
week,
then
I
would
say,
hit
the
panic
button
again.
All
ballots
are
not
out
yet,
which
is
why
they
see
pending
in
the
tracker.
There's
multiple
steps
to
it
so
and
it's
a
lot
of
manual
work.
So
in
addition
to
just
stuff
and
stuffing
envelopes
and
instructions,
and
then
the
ballot
we
still
have
to
after
we
mail
out
these
ballots,
we
still
have
to
scan
them
before.
Voters
can
actually
see
it
in
the
tracker,
which
is
why
they
see
pending.
G
J
K
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
council
edwards,
and
thank
you
councillor,
o'malley,
for
your
work
on
this
important
issue.
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
commissioner
and
sabino
as
well,
and
the
election
department
team
for
dedication,
hard
work
and
professionalism,
especially
during
this
difficult
time
apologize
for
being
late.
I
was
on
another
call
on
cleanup
issue
in
my
in
my
district,
but
what
what's
important
to
me
is
making
sure
that
the
the
voting
location
is
safe,
accessible
to
everybody,
especially
persons
with
disabilities.
K
Our
immigrant
neighbors,
it's
welcoming
to
our
immigrant
neighbors
and
you
know,
language
access
is
also
a
critical
part
of
elections.
I'm
I'm
the
vice
chair
of
civil
rights
with
councillor
mejia,
who
is
the
the
chair.
We
we
take
this
issue
very
seriously
voting
rights
as
a
civil
rights
issue,
so
I
just
want
to
highlight
the
tremendous
work
on
the
election
department
of
being
responsive
and
there's
more
work
that
we
we
want
to
do
on
this
issue,
and
I
also
want
to
highlight
the
early
voting
at
district
hall.
K
A
L
A
G
A
M
Yeah,
thank
you
counselor.
I
I
most
of
my
questions
have
have
been
addressed.
I
I
did.
I
did
want
to
also
thank
the
commissioner
for
considering
an
early
voting
location
in
the
south
boston
waterfront,
as
council
of
flynn
had
mentioned.
So
that's
well.
Clearly.
The
neighborhood
appreciates
that
I
do
have
a
question
as
it
relates
to
poll
observers
or
watchers.
M
I
guess
whatever
the
whatever
the
official
term
is,
how
many
per
precinct
and
or
how
many
per
pole
can
be
allowed
in
the
particular
polling
location
on
voting
day
and
early
voting.
I
guess,
but
clearly
on
november
3rd,
I'm
just
trying
to
understand
what,
if
that's
going
to
be
a
stressful
event
with
numerous
poll
observers
or
watchers
in
there
watching
the
process,
it's
something
that
typically
isn't
seen
across
the
city
and
it
it
could
potentially
add
some
an
interesting
dynamic.
That's
typically
not
there.
That
was
my
primary
question.
Thank
you.
G
There
is
no
that
limit
the
way,
we're
training
our
election
officers
until
we
get
any
further
guidance
on.
This
is
just
to
perhaps
rotate
the
observers,
and
there
are
capacity
limits
in
some
of
our
spaces,
so
it
depends
on
the
the
size
of
the
voting
location,
so
they
may
have
to
have
some
observers
just
take
turns
and
rotate
observe
observation
during
the
day.
A
F
I'm
sorry,
I
got
a
call
from
my
daughter's
school,
even
though
it's
remote
learning
there's
still
things
that
I
need
to.
You
know
so
sorry
about
my
disappearance
act
here,
but
and-
and
I
do
have
a
few
questions-
and
I'm
sure
that
I
I
heard
to
the
grapevine
that
edwards
has
always
had
my
back
and
asked
some
of
these
questions.
F
So
just
want
to
advocate
that
this
is
something
that
the
state
allows
and
that
the
city
should
support
in
allowing
people
to
utilize
their
their
address
of
incarceration
on
their
ballot
and
then
the
other.
The
other
piece
that
we're
I'm
curious
about.
With
20
days
until
elections,
we
need
to
provide
absentee
ballots,
applications
and
materials
on
candidates
and
deadlines
to
every
incarcerated
eligible
voter
and
I'm
not
sure
who
or
how,
if
that
is
happening
at
all,
and
if
not,
then
I'm
just
curious.
G
F
So
yeah,
so
I
was
on
the
I
so
pastor
hobbs
is
who
I've
been
working
with
and
the
sheriff
on
this.
So
I
this
is
why
I'm
bringing
it
up
into
the
space,
and
you
know
how
we
have
drop
boxes
and
like
the
libraries
and
where
people
can
drop
off
their
ballots
right
or
is.
Is
there
a
way
for
us
to
do
something
similar
just
for
the
the
prisons.
G
These
are
all
legislative
issues
because
with
absentee
ballots
it
says
that
either
the
voters
that
has
to
be
mailed
back
or
returned
by
a
household
member
or
a
family
member.
So
there's
a
lot
of
things
surrounding
that
that
are
legal
things
before
we
know
whether
or
not
we
can
actually
place
a
drop
box
for
incarcerated
individuals.
A
Commissioner,
if
I
may
and
counselor
mejia,
if
I
may,
the
question,
as
I
understand
it
is:
is
there
possible
to
have
a
drop
box
in
front
of
let's
say
the
suffolk
county
house
of
corrections
as
you've
put
in
front
of
libraries?
Is
it
possible
to
put
one
also
in
front
of
the
any
any
house
of
corrections
in
boston
by
virtue
of
the
fact,
not
only
for
those
who
are
in
the
house
of
corrections,
but
their
family
members
coming
to
visit
them?
A
F
G
G
We
went
based
on
the
guidelines
set
forth
by
the
secretary
of
state
because
there
is
nothing
really
governing
drop
boxes.
We
at
the
bare
minimum
decided
to
follow
their
guidelines,
which
was
placing
drop
boxes
at
city
owned
locations
that
individuals
were
familiar
with.
That
would
be
under
surveillance
all
24
hours,
so
in
trying
to
identify
a
location
or
city-owned
locations
that
people
frequent
and
people
are
familiar
with.
We
decided
to
go
with
boston,
public
libraries,
for
consistency
and
messaging.
A
Well,
I
don't
know
counselor
me
if
you
had
a
follow-up,
but
I
definitely
would
encourage
the
city
to
consider
house
correction
as
a
very
secure
place,
with
24-hour
monitoring
for
too
many
of
our
families.
It
is
a
very
familiar
place.
They
visit
their
loved
ones
there
regularly
every
weekend
every
holiday
every
day,
as
as
those
the
work
schedules
will
allow,
for
it
is
a
place
for
a
lot
of
children.
A
It's
a
place
for
a
lot
of
families
to
come,
and
while
there
might
be
the
issue
of
whether
the
boston
residents
are
all
technically
coming
there
who
are
voting,
they
are
boston
residents
if
they
choose
to
be
registered
in
that
house
of
corrections.
So
one
thing
that
I
think-
and
I
appreciate
this
truly
making
council
me
hear
you
bringing
this
up
and
bringing
this
to
their
that's
the
decision.
I
hope
that
the
elections
department
will
correct
in
the
future.
A
A
F
F
We
have
an
opportunity
to
really
step
up
in
a
way
that
really
shows
that,
regardless
of
what
you
know,
we
talk
about
second
chances
and
we
can't
even
give
people
an
opportunity
to
vote
in
the
city
of
boston
and
how
we
really
serious
about
removing
barriers
of
people
who
are
living.
These
realities
can't
even
vote
for
utilize
their
voice,
and
so
I
think
that
this
is
it's
20
days
from
now.
F
I'm
sure
that
there's
some
magic
that
you
can
work
with,
I
don't
know-
maybe
mayor
walsh,
got
some
friends
up
in
the
state
house
still,
but
he
can
make
a
few
phone
calls
and
call
william
gallivan
of
the
you
know
that,
commissioner,
whatever
he
is
the
secretary
of
state,
so
let's
do
something.
I
think
that
this
is
one
of
those
things
like
you
know,
let's
figure
it
out
and
let's
be
aggressive
about
removing
these
barriers.
It's
20
days,
it's
one
drop
box.
It
is
an
effort
that
is
worth
us
fighting
for.
F
A
Thank
you,
I'm
just
the
echo
and
I'm
sure
my
colleagues
will
as
well
we're
excited
to
lead
the
state
in
this.
We
might
be
the
first,
if
not
maybe
one
of
the
few
drop
boxes
outside
of
our
incarceration
and
institute
of
incarceration.
So
I
hope
boston
does
lead
and
I
hope
we
can
demonstrate
that
we
can
provide
one
more
resource
going
back
now
through
second
round
of
questions
from
my
colleagues
and
comments,
counselor
o'malley.
D
Thank
you,
madam
chair
I'll,
get
into
my
comments
more
on
sort
of
some
of
the
safety
precautions,
but
just
to
sort
of
follow
up
that
conversation.
Having
worked
in
the
sheriff's
department
for
sheriff
andrea
cabral
for
a
number
of
years
about
the
south
bay
house
of
correction
in
nashua
street
jail,
which
are
two
our
two
correctional
facilities
in
boston.
I
certainly
agree
for
calls
to
make
it
easier
for
inmates
and
detainees
to
have
an
opportunity
to
vote.
D
D
So
while
I
certainly
think
it's
it's
a
noble
goal,
looking
at
a
more
concentrated
effort
on
getting
applications
and
sort
of
the
vote
by
mail
through
the
traditional
means
to
folks
who
are
living
in
south
bay,
currently,
I
think
is
another
another
tool
that
we
we
should
not
lose
sight
of
is
a
great
way
to
get
more
participation
from
individuals
who
currently
are
at
south
bay.
So
that's
just
my
two
cents
on
that
back
to
the
preparedness.
D
G
We
did
hire
approximately
800
election
officers
to
serve
on
september
1st.
We
did
find
that
a
number
of
those
individuals
did
not
serve
because
they
were
experiencing
some
sort
of
symptom,
and
we
asked
that
anyone
who
had
any
symptoms
stayed
home
for
the
november
election.
We
are
currently
at
2062
coworkers,
which
is
pretty
impressive,
and
I
I
don't
think
I've
ever
seen-
staffing
numbers
that
high,
which
is
great.
We
are
going
to
going
to
continue
the
staff,
just
in
anticipation
for
anyone
who
may
fall
off
before
election
day.
G
D
G
D
G
D
Point
wow:
why
do
you
think
I
mean?
That's?
That's
an
amazing
figure,
because
I
know
that
was
a
real
concern
at
our
hearing
in
may,
and
then
our
follow-up
working
session
in
august
that
we
wouldn't
be
able
to
get
the
get
the
participation.
But
that's
that's
fantastic,
so
we
don't
respect
it
on
that.
That's
good
news!
D
G
You
should
definitely
take
advantage
of
early
voting
at
fenway
park
on
saturday,
the
17th
and
sunday.
The
18th
voting
will
be
available
from
11
a.m,
to
7
p.m.
So,
yes,
it
is
a
great
opportunity.
The
red
sox
opened
up
their
doors
to
the
voters
of
boston
and
we
decided
to
take
advantage
of
the
opportunity.
So
we
hope
that
everyone
will
take
advantage
of
it
as
well.
D
Good
and
then
finally,
can
you
talk
a
little
bit
sort
of
about
some
more
of
the
these
safety
precautions?
I'm
talking
about
my
wife
and
I
went
to
early
vote
and
we
were
handed
a
brand
new
pen
and
and
they're
sanitized,
and
they
were
just
talk
about
run
us
through
briefly
for
this
round
and
that's
my
last
question
on
just
the
safety
precautions
when
an
individual
shows
up
to
either
early
vote
or
vote
on
election
day,
how
it's
going
to
be
different
for
him
or
her.
G
So,
and
but
we
also
in
addition
to
all
that,
we
reminding
our
poll
workers
to
clean,
but
we
have
cleaning
crews
assembled
that
will
go
out
into
every
single
polling
location
with
electrostatic
guns
and
this
disaffects
the
location
every
two
to
three
hours.
That's
something
that
did
work
very
well
for
the
september
election
and
we
will
continue
it
for
the
general
election
as
well.
D
D
Is
there
any
concern
about
safety?
Granted
boston,
isn't
considered
a
battleground
city
and
massachusetts
isn't
considered
a
battleground
state.
So
perhaps
this
wouldn't
be
as
big
of
a
concern
in
some
other
places,
but
are
there
some
sort
of
public
safety
concerns
given
given
the
volatility
of
of
this
race
right
now
and
have
you
had
conversations
with
public
safety
professionals
just
sort
of
anticipatory?
I
had
asked
mayor
walsh
this
question
on
a
call
he
had
with
some
electeds
on
elections
as
well,
so
you
were
on
that
call.
G
We
are,
we
have
been
working
with
bpd
to
ensure
that
they,
they
typically
are
available
and
on
hand,
but
just
making
sure
that
our
police
officers
who
are
stationed
here
they
keep
them
on
for
the
rest
of
the
night.
Just
in
case
any
civil
unrest
should
arise.
We
are
working
with
emergency
management
as
well.
We
will
be
activating
their
command
center
for
election
day,
just
in
anticipation
for
any
anything
that
may
arise
throughout
the
day.
Okay,.
C
G
G
We
have
election
officers
who
are
not
only
helping
on
election
day
they're
here,
helping
us
staff
stuff
ballots
as
well,
and
we
do
have
staff
members
coming
from
other
city
agencies
agency,
officially
agencies,
so
individuals
who
may
be
working
from
home
or
scheduled
to
work
from
home
on
certain
days
are
actually
coming
in
here
to
assist,
and
we
will
take
as
many
people
as
we
can
to
get
all
these
ballots
out
the
door
by
friday.
So
you
know
someone
who
is
willing
to
volunteer.
G
C
A
F
Thank
you
again,
so
I
just
have
a
few
questions
about
communication
and
engagement
in
terms
of
like
where
the
new
ballot
drop
boxes
are
and
what
languages
we're
reaching
out
in.
I
know
that
I
did
see
a
long
list
of
all
of
the
places
across
the
city
and
we've
shared
that
on
our
socials,
I'm
just
trying
to
still
determine
whether
or
not
you
have
it
in
multiple
languages.
I
haven't
seen
that
communication
in
multiple
languages
yet
and
if
you
have
it,
if
someone
could
email
it
to
me,
that
would
be
great.
F
G
F
And
then
you
know,
a
lot
of
people
already
feel
mistrust
in
the
government
right
and
they
might
be
really
skeptical
of
any
changes
to
the
electoral
process.
I'm
just
curious
what
is
being
done
to
communicate
any
changes
or
considerations
made
by
the
elections
department
yeah,
I'm
just
curious
about
what
your
communication
has
been
to
the
general
public,
about
what
you're
doing.
Why
you're
doing
it,
how
you're
doing
it
and
how
safe
it
is.
G
G
G
G
F
Great
and
one
last
question:
this
is
not
even
around
safety,
I'm
just
curious
about
signage.
You
know
those
signs
vote
today,
the
ones
that
you
usually
put
out
all
over
the
city,
I'm
just
curious
if
it
would
be
possible
for
this
time
to
have
more
signs
across
different
parts
of
the
city,
because
I
know
certain
neighborhoods
have
more
signage
than
others.
F
Yeah
and
that's
why
I'm,
commissioner,
tavares
I'm
so
excited
that
I
went
through
this
first
year
of
learning,
because
next
year
is
for
the
budget
cycle
y'all,
I'm
gonna
tell
you,
I'm
gonna
go
hard
and
making
sure
that
you
all
have
the
resources
and
the
and
and
the
support
that
you
need
to
be
able
to
do
this
work.
This
should
be
a
priority
for
the
city.
F
The
fact
that
you
got
to
work
whatever
little
sandwich
boxes
you
have
is
just
crazy
at
this
point
right
and
I
think
that
our
values
are
definitely
a
value
statement
and
we
need
to
ensure
that
you
have
the
tools
and
and
the
budget
that
you
need
to
really
do
your
to
do
what
you
envision
for
your
for
your
department.
So
I
just
want
you
to
know
that
I
see
you
and
I
appreciate
you
and
I'm
gonna
go
hard
for
y'all
next
year.
F
A
K
That's
good
to
know.
Thank
you,
commissioner,
and
my
final
question.
I
know.
Obviously,
all
the
voting
locations
will
be
ada
compliant,
but
are
there
any
other
concerns
that
persons
with
disabilities
might
have
in
terms
of
navigating
the
voting
booth,
whether
it's
the
sidewalk
out
front
or
it's
the
crosswalk
nearby?
G
We
created
an
accessibility,
training
video
that
just
covers
how
to
assist
individuals
with
a
disability,
and
we
are
constantly
reminding
them
and
encouraging
them,
especially
for
the
locations
that
have
accessible,
separate,
accessible
entrances
to
staff.
Someone
at
that
location
to
make
sure
that
voters
can
access
that
door
at
all
times
and
just
making
sure
they.
They
know
what
the
proper
etiquette
is
for.
Speaking
with
someone
with
a
disability
and
what
type
of
assistance
is
available
and
how
they
can
be
of
assistance
to
these
voters.
G
K
A
A
Okay,
so
I
just
had
two
just
follow
up
and
then
we're
gonna
do
go
through.
For
final
remark,
commissioner,
I
understand
we
went
from
two
drop
boxes
to
17.
for
the
general,
so
that's
a
huge
jump
and
I'm
just
hoping
again.
I
wanted
to
echo
what
counselor
makia
said:
what's
the
average
cost
of
a
dropbox,
and
how
do
we
get
to
the
point
where
we
get
50
of
these
around
the
city?
G
A
I
recognize
a
challenge.
I
I
definitely
think
again.
As
councilor
mejia
said,
I
echo
you
the
the
resources
that
you
will
need
to
be.
I
would
love
for
you
to
when
the
budget
time
comes
around
for
you
to
explain
what
those
resources
are
so,
for
you
know
the
additional
23
that
we
need.
If
we
have
17
now
assuming
they're
not
going
anywhere,
you
know
you
need.
A
So
I
really
look
forward
to
that,
and
I
hope
that
I
know
my
colleagues
will
join
counselor
mejia
in
pushing
for
the
infrastructure
and
the
dollars
to
make
sure
that's
happening,
and
I
just
again
appreciate
your
looking
into
the
possibility
of
having
a
dropbox
outside
the
house
of
correction,
even
if
it
is
just
for
the
final
10
days
and
trying
to
come
up
with
a
place.
I
think
it
reminds
people
to
vote.
D
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
Thank
you,
commissioner.
Thank
you
to
all
my
colleagues
who
participated.
You
know
this
is
the
most
important
election
of
our
lifetime.
That
has
been
said
countless
times
in
years
past
this
time.
It's
actually
true
yeah
doing
everything
we
can
to
ensure
that
as
many
people
are
able
to
vote
safely
amid
pandemic
easily
during
other
barriers
that
this
clearly
exists
to
voting
to
tackle
those,
I
really
want
to
see
boston
become
a
leader
or
continue
to
be
a
leader.
D
In
this
space
we
had
enormous
turnout
on
a
what
otherwise
was
seen
as
a
very
low
likely
a
low
turnout
election
last
month,
and
I
think
that
both
both
speaks
to
the
civic
spirit
that
is
alive
and
well
in
the
city
and
the
great
work
that
you
have
done,
commissioner.
So
we
stand
ready,
willing
and
able.
D
Same-Day
voter
registration
is
something
that
we
need
to
do
automatic
voter
registration
is
something
that
we
need
to
do
looking
at
this
increased
access
for
voting,
not
only
the
early
vote
sites,
but
the
vote
by
mail
are
great,
are
great
steps
in
the
right
direction
having
those
access
points
to
as
many
people
as
possible.
I
know
you
agree
with
that.
I
know
we
all
agree
with
that.
D
It's
going
to
take
the
political
will
and
the
muscle
to
make
it
done,
but
I'm
certain
that
we
can
so
looking
forward
to
you
know
we
called
the
hearing
initially
had
a
working
session
before
the
primary
had
this.
I
would
like
it
with
the
chairs
agreement
that
we
could
maybe
do
a
sort
of
retrospective.
D
After
the
november
election,
we'll
give
you
a
couple
weeks
to
catch
up
on
sleep,
because
I
know
how
hard
you're
working,
but
just
to
sort
of
look
in
again
what
way
it
can
be
an
informal
working
session
like
this,
where
we
just
look
what
what
went
well
what
we
can
work
on
in
the
future.
But
again
I
will
close
with
the
way
I
began
by
saying
that
you
and
your
team
did
a
remarkable
job
and
we're
very
we're
very,
very
grateful
for
your
leadership
and
your
work
in
this
vitally
important
area.
C
C
I'm
hopeful-
and
hopefully
this
is
going
to
go
well,
and
I
am
very
grateful
for
this
advanced
mailing
about
with
information
about
early
voting
and
drop
boxes,
etc.
It's
answered
many
of
the
questions
that
our
constituents
are
asking
in
the
run-up
to
the
last
election
and
hopefully
they'll
be
answered
this
time
and
they
will
be
more
familiar
with
with
the
process
this
time
as
well.
C
C
We
are
hopeful
that
civic
engagement
and
voter
turnout
will
is
an
upward
trend
in
boston
and
we
want
to
make
sure
your
department's
well
staffed
and
well
funded
to
meet
the
meet
the
challenges
going
forward.
So,
thank
you
so
much
and
I
would
like
to
see
a
debriefing
session
after
the
election
to
see
what
went
well
and
see
what
we
can
improve
next
time.
Thank
you.
F
Yes,
so
thank
you
again,
commissioner.
Tavares
I
mean
I
have
to
say
that
you
started
off
in
a
very
traumatic
way,
with
a
recount
to
have
to
oversee
and
then
a
global
pandemic
to
have
to
figure
out
how
to
ensure
that
every
vote
counts,
and
so
I
just
have
to
commend
you
and
your
entire
staff
for
really
leading
under
these
circumstances.
So
I
I
think
that
you
know
the
work
that
you're
doing
is
heroic
in
many
ways.
F
So
I
just
want
to
thank
you
for
all
of
that,
and
I
would
be
remiss
if
I
did
not
echo
and
continue
to
push
and
advocate
to
ensure
that
our
incarcerated
residence
constituents,
because
you
know
we
work
for
them
too-
that
they
also
have
an
opportunity
to
cast
their
vote
and
to
be
heard.
And
I
think
that
this
is
really
even
it's
not
just
about
making
history.
But
it's
really
about
righting
the
wrong.
F
For
far
too
many
years,
we've
created
barriers
that
prevented
people
from
participating
in
their
own
lives,
and
if
this
is
the
moment
that
we
can
take
off
that
band-aid
and
it
might
hurt
because
it
might
take
on
a
little
bit
extra
work,
I
think
that
work
will
be
worth
the
effort,
and
so
whatever
you
need
from
us
to
help
support
you
in
that
process.
Please
you
know,
let
it
be
known
you
have.
K
Thank
you,
council
edwards.
Thank
you,
councillor,
o'malley
excellent
hearing.
Thank
you
to
the
commissioner.
Your
dedicated
team
at
election
department
for
your
professionalism
and
dedication,
hard
work
voting
is
a
civil
right
that
can
never
be
compromised.
It's
critical.
We
work
together
to
ensure
equal
access
to
polling
locations.
Thank
you.
A
I
look
forward
to
the
day
where
a
hundred
percent
of
us
are
voting,
because
it's
just
so
natural
and
part
of
all
of
our
cultures
to
do
so
so
until
and
that
happens
we'll
be
on
the
on
the
grind-
and
I
know
the
commissioner
will
be,
and
so
will
the
city
of
boston
all
the
counselors.
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
time
have
a
good
day
working
sessions
ended.
Thank
you.