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From YouTube: Committee on Government Operations on January 28, 2019
Description
Docket #0130- Petition for a Special Law re: An Act Authorizing the City of Boston to Offer Early Voting in Municipal Elections
A
The
Committee
on
government
operations-
and
we
are
here
today
to
discuss
docket
zero
one
three
zero.
It's
a
petition
for
a
special
law
regarding
an
act
authorizing
the
City
of
Boston
to
offer
early
voting
in
municipal
elections.
This
formal
petition
proposes
that
the
city
of
Boston,
Board
of
Election
Commissioners,
offer
early
voting
for
biennial
municipal
elections,
beginning
in
2019
for
any
qualified
voter.
It
also
proposes
that
the
Board
of
Election
Commissioners
establish
a
process
for
early
voting
locations
date,
staffing
and
a
process
for
applying
for
receiving
seperating,
compiling,
recording
and
securing
early
voter
ballots.
A
Voting
sites
shall
be
accessible
to
persons
with
disabilities
and
regulations
to
implement
the
SAC
and
should
be
consistent.
With
section
25
b
of
chapter
54
of
the
Mass
General
Laws
I'd
like
to
note
that
this
hearing
is
being
streamlined
in
Boston,
City
Council
TV
online
and
is
being
recorded
and
will
be
broadcast
at
a
later
date
on
comcast
channel
8,
RC,
n
channel
82
and
Verizon
channel
one.
Nine.
Six,
four
I'll
now
turn
it
over
to
the
lead
sponsors.
A
My
colleague
City
Council,
Josh,
Zakim
and
also
city
councilor,
Kim
Janey
and
we've
also
been
joined
by
our
colleague
city
counsel,
Ed
Flynn,
for
opening
remarks
and
then
we'll
get
into
it
with
the
administration,
and
then
we
have
other
panel
guests
as
well
as
members
of
the
public
who
wish
to
testify,
can
do
so
at
that
time
she
recognizes
lead
sponsor
counsel
with
Josh
Sagan
all
right.
Thank
you.
Thank.
B
You
mr.
chairman
I
wanna
thank
good,
a
good
colleague,
councillor
Janey
for
her
co-sponsorship
and
leadership
on
this
issue.
Since
long
before
she
joined
the
Boston
City
Council
and
our
colleagues
for
for
their
support
of
this,
and,
of
course,
to
our
Election
Commissioners
and
the
department
here
in
the
city
of
Boston
I
want
to
thank
you
for
the
work
you
do
on
this
every
day,
and
this
may
be
question
of
being
the
victim
of
your
own
success,
because
you've
done
so
well
with
early
voting
in
our
state
and
federal
elections.
B
You
know
this
has
something
that
we
think
we
can
and
should
expand
the
municipal
elections
and
I
know.
I,
don't
have
to
tell
you,
gentlemen,
are
the
folks
in
your
department
the
challenges
we
have
when
it
comes
to
turnout
and
participation
in
any
election,
but
particularly
I'm
going
to
spell
elections,
particularly
in
our
non
mayoral
years,
and
because
we
found
in
other
elections
whether
it
was
the
state
general
election.
This
past
November,
the
presidential
in
2016,
providing
more
opportunities
for
eligible
residents
to
cast
their
votes,
increases
turnout.
B
It
provides
people
with
more
options
to
have
their
voice
heard,
to
participate
in
our
democracy
and
that's
what
we're
looking
to
do
here
so
I
certainly
am
excited
to
work
on
this.
This
bill
came
about
through
a
conversations
I
had
with
officials
in
Cambridge,
with
the
vice
mayor
and
the
mayor
over
there,
and
they
have
actually
already
sent
up
a
version
for
Cambridge
of
this
home
world
petition
to
the
State
House.
C
You
mr.
chair
and
first
I
just
really
like
to
acknowledge
and
thank
my
colleague
councillor
sake
him
for
his
leadership
on
these
issues.
Certainly
the
elections
Department
for
the
work
that
you
do
every
day,
all
the
advocates
who
have
been
working
with
us
around
this
important
issue.
As
councillors,
Aiken
has
already
noted
it's
so
important
that
we
make
sure
that
our
elections
are
easy,
that
they
are
accessible
to
the
residents
of
our
city.
C
Look
at
what
is
happening
nationally.
We
see
voter
suppression
in
other
parts
of
our
country
and
its
important
that
Boston
be
a
leader
on
this
front.
We've
already
had
some
success
with
state
early
voting
with
our
state
elections
and
I.
Think
it's
high
time
that
we
look
at
our
city
elections,
so
I'd
like
to
just
get
right
in
it.
So
I
will
keep
my
remarks
brief
and
go
back
to
the
chair.
Thank.
A
D
Yes,
then,
thank
you,
council,
Authority
and
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
councillor
Janey
for
her
work
on
on
this
issue
in
Council
of
Zakim
who's.
Also,
the
chair
of
the
civil
rights
committee
I'm,
the
vice
chair,
so
I,
enjoy
working
with
council
as
a
campus
is
a.
This
is
certainly
a
civil
rights
issue.
In
my
opinion,
in
what
I'd
like
to
hear
or
focus
on
is
what
impact
would
early
voting
have
on
the
disabled?
D
What
type
of
outreach
could
we
have
to
ensure
that
those
in
the
disability
community
have
the
same
access
to
early
voting
as
every
voter,
and
the
other
issue
I
would
be?
I
would
like
to
hear
more
information
on
is
what
impact
would
this
have
on
or
how
could
we
include
veterans
that
are
serving
overseas?
D
Often
it's
difficult
to
get
in
absentee
ballot
to
someone
overseas,
but
maybe
with
early
voting.
We
could
give
them
enough
time
to
get
that
ballot
mailed
out
to
them.
I
do
know
that
the
federal
government
does
have
an
opportunity
for
veterans
to
even
vote
by
by
email,
but
I
would
like
to
learn
more
about
about
any
plans.
You
might
have
on
how
this
couldn't
assist
veterans
and
how
this
could
also
assist
those
in
the
disability,
community
and
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
for
your
leadership
on
this
issue.
Commissioner.
Thank
you
thank.
E
You,
mr.
chairman,
good
afternoon,
commissioner
and
Registrar,
one
of
my
favorite
podcasts
was
with
you
two
on
my
podcast
talking
about
how
we
ought
to
make
it
easier,
not
harder
for
folks
to
vote,
and
this
goes
right
into
that.
Thank
you
that
you,
the
sponsors,
counselors
a-come,
who
has
been
working
on
this
for
quite
some
time
and
councillor
Janie.
Just
very
very
briefly,
I
absolutely
support
this.
We
ought
to
have
early
voting
for
every
election
I'm
talking
about
not
presidentials,
midterms
municipals,
even
special
elections.
E
It
is
a
proven
success
that
works
and
if
you
look
back
to
the
state
primary
election
this
year,
there
last
year
know
in
early
September
of
2018
it's
the
day
after
Labor
Day,
most
of
us
thought
that
turnout
would
be
very,
very
low.
It
wasn't
and
there
is
sort
of
an
awakened
civic
activism,
not
only
in
Boston
and
only
in
the
Commonwealth
but
across
the
country,
and
anything
we
can
do
to
make
it
easier
for
vote
folks
to
vote
earlier
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction.
E
It's
going
to
cost
money,
there's
no
question
about
it,
but
I
would
argue
that
it
is
the
most
among
the
most
important
expenditures
that
we
should
be
making.
As
we
talk
about
the
budget
this
year,
make
sure
we
allocate
them
several
hundred
thousand
or
million
dollars
whatever
it
would
cost
to
have
a
fully
operational
early
voting
system
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
I
know
it's
gonna.
Another
concern
may
be
taxing
your
staff,
Commission
I,
get
that
again.
I
would
argue
that
this
is
so
important.
E
We
ought
to
be
hiring
more
staff
for
you
to
make
sure
that
this
can
be
implemented
and
implemented.
Well,
so
I
am
so
excited
to
have
this
opportunity.
I
really
appreciate
mr.
chairman
you're
calling
this
hearing
early
so
that
we
can
hopefully
get
this
done
by
the
municipal
elections.
This
fall.
Thank
you.
Thank.
A
G
F
Thank
You
chairman
clarity
and
comes
to
Jacob
Janie,
Flynn
and
O'malley.
So
I
was
a
pleasure
to
work
along
with
you,
and
we
certainly
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
testify
today,
at
this
hearing
before
I
get
into
this.
Testimony,
I'd
like
to
take
this
opportunity
just
to
to
thank
two
employees
for
the
department
who
recently
retired
and
they
provided
over
over
a
hundred
years
combined
of
service
to
the
city
of
Boston,
so
I'd
like
to
congratulate
Anna,
Kaiser
and
Agnes
Hurley
on
their
recent
retirements
with
respect
to
early
voting.
F
We're
big
supporters.
Mayor
Walsh
is
a
big
support
of
early
voting
and,
as,
as
you
mentioned,
be
we're
all
in
favor
of
making
things
easier
for
voters
and
and
we're
willing
to
to
make
whatever
sacrifices
that
we
need
to
do
on
our
side
just
to
make
it
convenient.
Because
this
we
understand
what
our
job
is
all
about.
F
I'm
sure
you
guys
have
all
gotten
feedback
from
voters
as
well
as
myself
in
the
mirror.
I've
gotten
emails
phone
calls
just
in
person
comments
from
voters
how
happy
they
were
with
the
added
convenience
that
early
voting
provided
them
and
the
numbers
back
it
up.
In
20
2018
we
had
about
20,000
people
vote
early
and
I'll
first
go
around
in
2016,
which
was
the
presidential
election.
We
had
a
50,000
people
vote
early,
so
we're
very
happy
with
the
participation
that
we're
seeing
so
we're
in
support.
F
There
are
some
things
that
we
want
to
bring
to
your
attention
and
their
relative
to
timeline.
One
is
that
the
municipal
election
cycle
is
more
of
a
condensed
timeline
than
the
other
cycles
that
we've
had
early
voting
in
our
municipal
election
is
later
in
September,
so
we
do
have
a
shorter
window
between
both
elections
and
but
we
think
that
we
could
make
necessary
adjustments
for
that.
I
think
the
major
thing
that
I
want
to
bring
to
your
attention
is
that
I
think.
F
F
With
respect
to
how
this
would
impact
veterans
of
military
serving
overseas,
it
should
be
know
feel
free
to
join
them.
But
I
do
think
that
the
current
the
absentee
process
will
probably
be
better
suited
for
those
folks
or
overseas,
because
we
will
have
absentee
ballots
earlier
than
we
would
have
early
voting
ballots
and
so,
but
with
respect
to
veterans
who
are
here,
I
think
we
can
continue
to
improve
and
do
more
outreach
to
to
groups
who
are
here
to
make
sure
that
they
understand
the
early
voting
and
the
absentee
opportunities
that
are
available
to
everyone.
F
We
even
created
a
video
that
we're
in
these
training
now
that
that
Commissioner
McCarthy
actually
stars
in
the
video
where
we
were
continually
giving
them
information.
This
is
a
big
part
of
our
training
and
we've
also
encouraged
some
of
our
poll
workers
to
volunteer
to
be
what
we
call
accessibility
about.
A
A
You
both
and
sub
you
know.
As
you
know,
this,
the
council
has
worked
very
closely
over
the
years
with
the
Election
Commission
I
love
the
efforts
on
behalf
of
the
council
with
the
transliteration
of
ballots.
At
that
time,
just
trying
to
do
the
implementation
of
the
rollout
working
cooperatively
with
our
predecessors
I
know,
a
Savino
has
had
a
front-row
seat
for
the
transliteration
of
Alice
B.
A
So
so
we've
always
had
this
good
positive
working
relationship,
so
I'm,
confident
that,
with
respect
to
getting
this
off
the
ground
and
implementing
this
proposal,
the
early
voting
will
get
it
done
as
quickly
as
we
can
and
get
it
turned
around
as
quickly
as
possible
and
food
for
thought.
In
the
event
that
there
happens
to
be
a
special
election
between
sort
of
now
and
then
maybe
it's
possible,
we
could
do
a
pilot.
You
know
to
at
least
work
out
the
kinks
on
that
particular
election.
A
There's
not
one
right
now,
but
in
the
event
that
there
is
either
a
municipal
or
state
special
I've,
just
thrown
a
food
for
thought
that,
in
the
event
that
there
is
a
vacancy
or
there
is
a
special
may
make
sense
to
maybe
you
know,
hands
around
potentially
just
doing
a
quick
pilot
on
that
election
if
that's
possible
within
your
department.
So
with
respect
to
the
questions
on
on
your
testimony,
does
the
election
apartment
currently
do
they
have
the
ability
with
its
current
staffing,
to
implement
this?
If
it
was
to
happen
tomorrow,.
F
If
it
was
passed
tomorrow,
yes
with
that
would
give
a
sufficient
lead
time
to
prepare
and
particularly
like
earlier
on
this
year.
You
know
we're
already
securing
polling
places
for
election
day,
so
we
need
to
secure
locations
for
early
voting
sites.
We
need
to
start
securing
poll
workers,
identifying
training
sites
and
dates
and
just
logistical
things,
but
with
the
state
that
we
have
now,
we
would
be
able
to
accomplish
this
given
enough
time
and.
A
A
F
F
Citywide,
so
if
it
was
just
one
district,
you
wouldn't
be
alive.
Yes,
in
terms
of
how
we
approach
siting
for
early
voting,
we
we
look
at
City
Council
districts
and
we
also
look
at
neighborhoods
and-
and
we
put
together,
schedules
that
offer
early
voting
location
opportunity,
either
in
or
very
close
to,
every
single
neighborhood
of
the
city,
and
we
try
to
make
sure
that
it's
equitable
as
possible.
F
And
that's
the
reason
why
we
implemented
electronic
poll
books
that
we
use
for
checking
in
voters
those,
but
there
are
they're
an
interconnected,
and
so
when
someone
goes
to
one
early
voting
site
and
votes,
we
know
that's
recorded
at
every
single
site.
So
there's
there's
no
ability
for
someone
to
go
and
vote
twice
and.
F
F
See
if
City
Hall
would
for
every
every
weekday
every
day
during
the
week,
we
typically
offer
early
voting
here
at
City
Hall,
and
then
we
last
go
around.
We
had
a
a
Tuesday
Thursday
schedule
where
we
were
out
in
in
Nate
in
the
neighborhood
of
different
parts
of
the
city,
on
Tuesdays
and
Thursdays,
and
on
Saturday
and
Sunday.
We
were
in
every
Council
District.
We
have.
We
had
one
location,
each
district
that
were
open
on
Saturday
and
Sunday
from
10:00
a.m.
until
I
think
6
p.m.
and.
F
A
F
We
should
have
new
voting
machines,
so
we're
in
the
process
of
issuing
a
request
for
proposals,
and
we
hope
to
have
new
machines
that
would
increase
capability
to
allow
us
to
designate
the
facilities
as
a
central
tabulation
facility
that
we
will
be
publicly
available
to
anyone
who
wants
to
observe
and
we'd
have
a
team
of
maybe
40
to
50
poll
workers
and
who
are
just
processing
early
voting
ballots
all
day
long
at
that
site.
Instead
of
sending
them
out
to
each
precinct
and.
A
F
Early
voting
is
similar
to
absentee
voting.
Where
someone
you
know,
you
do
make
your
choices
and
you
insert
them
in
an
envelope,
and
there
is
information
on
that
envelope.
But
when
the
ballots
processed,
all
those
envelopes
are
opened
up,
do
you
want
we're
checking
off
the
voters
names
on
the
list,
but
the
ballots
themselves?
The
poll
workers
they're
not
looking
at
those
ballots,
yeah,
you
don't
really
have
the
time
to
do
all
that.
A
And
the
concern
will
be
in
an
off-year
municipal
election,
where
the
turnout
is
significantly
lower.
You
may
have
situations
where
there's
only
one
or
two
people
from
a
specific
precinct
that
I'm
gonna
participate
in
early
and
thereby
folks
made
me
know
who
they
vote
for
so
as
long
as
the
safeguards
are
there
to
protect
that
individuals,
privacy.
G
B
You
mr.
chairman
gentleman,
chairman
I,
had
somewhat
of
an
exhaustive
first
go,
so
I.
Think
I
cannot
keep
my
questions
pretty
brief.
First,
acknowledging
that
we
have
dates
now
set
for
in
2019
election
I
know
when
councilor,
Jeannie
and
I
were
putting
this
together.
That
was
the
goal,
and
it
still
is
the
goal.
B
If
we
can
get
this
through
this
building
and
up
to
Beacon
Hill
for
the
upcoming
elections,
but
inserting
some
language
in
the
bill,
that
would
say
you
know
for
the
next
municipal
election
after
enactment
of
this
legislation
to
sort
of
address
that
issue,
because
I
want
to
be
realistic
and
make
sure
you
and
the
folks
that
work
in
your
department
have
time
to
get
this
set
up.
I
think
is
it's
something
we
can
do
to
address
that
and
then,
when
you
talked
about
the
cost
of
being
380,000,
that's
what
was
for
in
November.
F
B
H
B
Well,
I
think
my
my
goal
here
and
what
I
would
like
to
do
as
quickly
as
we
can.
You
know
with
the
chairman,
with
with
your
support
with
our
colleagues
and,
ultimately,
obviously
with
the
mayor,
is
get
a
version
of
this
bill
through
this
council
up
to
Beacon
Hill
to
work
as
fast
as
we
can
and
like
I
said
acknowledging
that
they
can
be
very
slow
up
there,
particularly
and
acting
on
some
of
our
Home
Rule
petitions.
B
But
this
is
an
easy
step
that
needs
to
be
done
and
I
appreciate
both
of
you
coming
in
with
that
attitude,
which
is
really
important
that
we're
all,
on
the
same
page,
you've
trying
to
make
these
improvements
and
trying
to
get
the
word
out
to
residents
of
the
city
of
Boston
that
this
is
gonna,
be
an
easier
opportunity
for
them
to
participate
in
elections.
When
I.
Do
you
know
in
the
legislation
we
intentionally
gave
quite
a
bit
of
discretion
to
the
Election
Commission
and
how
this
is
gonna
operate
because
we
want
it.
B
We
want
this
to
work.
We
don't
want
to
be
overly
prescriptive,
but
we're
looking
to
get
the
authorization
from
the
state
for
the
City
Council
for
your
body
to
get
this
in
place.
So
that's
it
I.
Think
I
want
to
thank
the
chairman
for
asking
so
many
of
the
detailed
questions
that
I
had
earlier
and
I
look
forward
to
getting
this
done.
Thank
you.
Thank.
C
G
Based
upon
what
we
did
this
past
state
election,
the
majority
of
the
cost
is
more
the
advertisement
and
letting
people
know
what's
happening
where
they're
happening
with
the
mailing
that
we
did
across
the
whole
city
and
I
guess.
Post
office
costs
are
extremely
high
printing
of
the
Flyers
themselves.
That
came
out
to
a
total
of
approximately
a
hundred
and
seventy
thousand.
That's
postage
mailings
and
any
kind
of
other
additional
advertisements
that
we
did.
G
G
G
G
C
We're
including
that
of
the
80,000
for
poll
workers,
how
much
of
that
is
for
training?
Is
there?
Training
include
wonderful
and
we
talked
about
40
locations.
That's
for
the
City
of
Boston,
what
you
did
for
the
state
elections?
Yes,
and
how
do
you
ensure
that
you
mentioned
equity,
commissioner?
How
do
you
ensure
that
they're
kind
of
placed
throughout
the
city
in
a
way
that
makes
sure
that
all
the
council
districts
are
covered,
that
they're
I
assume
they
all
have
to
be
a
DA
compliant?
Yes,
yes,.
F
C
F
Sort
of
mentioned
some
of
them
that
they're
a
TA
compliant
that
we're
looking
at
locations
that
are
accessible
by
public
transportation,
that
they
have
parking
that
are
in
the
midst
of
neighborhoods
with.
So
they
are
walkable.
We're
looking
at
the
city
geographically
to
make
sure
that
I'm
that
we're
in
every
part
of
the
city,
but
we're
also
looking
at
the
city
by
neighborhood
and
council
districts.
So
there
are
many
filters.
F
For
example,
if
you
just
looked
at
district
2,
for
example,
just
having
a
polling
place
early
voting
in
district
2
without
technology-
and
you
know
South,
Boston
and
Chinatown
and
different
parts.
You
know
the
North
different
parts
of
the
of
different
districts,
it's
important.
So
we
look
at
all
that
as
well
and
ultimately,
we
put
together
the
draft
when
we
put
it
out
for
community
feedback,
public
feedback,
elected
official
feedback
and
then
from
there.
We
go
on
to
a
final
schedule.
Okay,.
C
F
Groups
that
are
on
our
election
advisory
committee,
that
includes
mass
votes,
the
Chinese,
progressive,
Association
and
Vietnam
varied
same
rocks.
The
rocks
vote
coalition
ABCD
those
folks
and
from
there
we
we
think
we
set
it
out,
not
I,
think
we
sent
it
out
to
every
city,
councilor
and
community
organisations.
F
C
C
F
Actually,
in
terms
of
looking
at
the
draft,
it's
an
English
and
the
members
of
the
Chinese
progressive
Association
they're
there
on
our
election,
Advisory
Commission,
so
that
there's
no
language
need
at
that
point.
But
in
terms
of
when
we
do
outreach,
we
do
outreach
in
eleven
different
languages.
Okay,.
C
C
F
But
we
did
look
at
which
neighborhoods
did
participate
more
on
early
voting
them
and
others
are
actually
saying
which
precincts
and
we
did
see
a
trend
that
in
the
precincts
that
have
more
voters
that
precinct
that
were
actually
trying
to
adjust
in
terms
of
making
subdivisions,
because
there's
so
many
voters
and
so
much
growth
in
those
particular
precincts
and
typically,
there's
been
long
lines
in
the
past
on
election
days.
Before
early
voting.
A
lot
of
those
voters
from
those
precincts
actually
use
early
voting
to
I.
Think
of
what
the
liens
on
election.
C
A
E
Chairman,
so
just
so
folks
who
may
be
here
or
watching
this
to
stream,
this
online
know
right
now.
If
we
do
nothing,
the
only
way
someone
can
vote
in
this
municipal
election
is
to
vote
on
Election
Day
or
request
an
absentee
ballot
which
anyone
can
do,
but
if
they
come
to
City
Hall
to
vote
early
legally-
and
this
is
not
City
of
Boston
law.
This
is
not
a
city
of
Boston
ordinance.
It's
the
state!
Legally,
someone
cannot
early
vote
if
they're
going
to
be
in
the
city
on
Election
Day.
Is
that
correct,
yeah?
E
Just
folks
this
isn't?
This
is
in
our
ordinance.
I.
Think
everyone
in
this
building
agrees.
That's
an
ridiculous
idea.
So
at
a
minimum,
what
would
it
take
at
an
absolute
minimum
and
I'm
not
advocating
for
this,
because
I
think
that
having
early
vote
sites
in
the
communities
is
what's
crucial
to
success,
but
at
a
minimum?
E
What
would
it
take
to
allow
for
early
voting
in
because
I
think
you
would
mention
this
in
remarks
through
the
early
voting
process,
you
can
vote
every
day
or
most
days
during
business
hours
at
City
Hall,
as
well
as
some
satellite
location,
the
neighborhood,
so
at
a
minimum.
What
would
it
take
to
allow
for
early
voting
in
city
halls
as
sort
of
removed
that
completely
arbitrary
and
capricious
barrier
that
has
been
set?
That
would
only
allow
for
voting
early
if
you're
going
to
be
away
from
your
municipality
on
Election
Day.
G
E
G
E
I
guess
for
me:
it's
always
been
maddening
that
not
minimizing
those
are
all
important
reasons
why
you
couldn't,
but
we
should
of
course
make
it
easier
and
one
thing
that
early
voting
does
is
it
allows
pretty
easier?
So
you
said
you
need
about
six
months
leave
time.
So
if
we
could
get
this
passed
and
then
I
guess
this
question,
mr.
chairman,
through
you,
is
to
you
and
the
maker,
it
would
then
be
a
home
rule,
but
we
could.
E
We
could
theoretically
vote
on
this
Wednesday
mayor
Walsh
could
sign
it
into
law
on
Thursday
could
get
to
the
state
legislature
by
Friday,
but
they
would
still
need
a
legislative
fix.
So
I
guess
mr.
chairman
threw
you
to
the
maker
or
threw
you
do.
We
have
allies
set
up
on
Beacon
Hill
who
are
set
to
take
the
lead
on
this.
A
That's
our
hope,
talking
to
Council
is
a
chemical
genie,
so
obviously
the
mayor
would
need
to
sign
it
as
well
and
to
his
leadership.
Try
to
get
this
thing
expedited
a
poke
at
you
know
for
2019.
So
so
the
the
goal
in
the
objective
is
to
be
ready
to
go
for
2019.
If
we
can
get
within
that
six
month
window,
the
commissioners
telling
us
in
the
event
that
that's
not
the
case,
the
language
in
here
could
be
amended
to
include
what
the
appropriate
date
that
we're
revealing
yeah.
E
A
B
So,
in
particular,
Cambridge
worked
with
us
on
draft
and
they
sent
virtually
identical
home
roll
petition
at
the
end
of
last
year.
Their
legislative
delegation
is
working
on
this
I've
spoken
to
members
of
the
Boston
delegation
who
are
happy
to
work
on
this,
and
there
has
been
a
real
push
and
I
want
to
give
a
shout
to
representative
Andy
Vargas
payroll,
who
has
been
doing
a
lot
of
work
on
civic
engagement,
voting
rights
and
access.
So
there's
an
appetite
for
this,
but
you
know
as
well
as
I
do
how
slow
the
up
there.
E
Again,
I
don't
have
a
question
other
than
a
statement
that
the
benefits
to
early
voting
are
too
many
to
list.
We
would
spend
hours
doing
it
and
we've
seen
it
twice
now
what
a
success
it
can
be,
and
we
even
saw
the
success
of
if
the
backdrop
of
a
very
important,
very,
very
intense
presidential
election,
and
then
we
saw
during
a
mute,
non
mid-year
election
midterm
election,
which
also
had
a
lot
of
excitement
activity
that
will
continue
the
easier
we
make
it
for
folks
to
vote
the
more
participation
we
will
see.
E
There
have
been
two
perfect
examples
of
that
thus
far
and
the
fact
that
this
isn't
working
so
well,
not
only
in
Boston
but
in
communities
around
the
Commonwealth
shows
a
real
desire
you
guys
can
handle.
You
have
one
of
the
most
important
jobs
and
you
do
it
so
well,
your
team
does
it
so
well
and
I
am
excited
that
there
seems
to
be
essentially
broad-based
agreement
in
this
among
this
members
of
our
body
to
get
this
done.
So
I
am
just
hopeful
that
we
can
get
it
done
for
this
year's
election
that
that's
the
key.
E
That
is
crucial.
If
we
kick
the
can
down
the
road
I'm,
not
saying
we
do
it,
it's
it's
more
often
than
not
going
to
be
the
legislature,
but
if
we
continue
to
delay
this
we're
going
to
choke
this
and
and
all
the
momentum
that
we've
seen
is
going
to
be
for
naught
so
I'm
just
so
delighted
to
be
here
and
anything.
We
can
do
to
get
this
done
as
soon
as
humanly
possible.
We
ought
to
be
doing
Thank
You.
I
Prior
to
the
general,
it
doesn't
impact
the
preliminary
or
the
primary
or
any
primary
yes,
and
the
cost
says
you
outlined.
I
think
that
detail
is
very
helpful
and
we
appreciate
the
expense
of
the
need
to
do
this,
and
all
of
that,
but
I
would
imagine
if
this
were
to
become
regular
practice,
and
we
were
to
do
this
going
forward
that
the
cost
would
over
time
be
decreased
substantially
as
it
became
standard
practice.
F
Believe
over
time,
there
was
an
opportunity
to
decrease
cars.
We've
already
seen
a
decrease
in
costs
from
2016
to
2018
in
terms
of
acquiring
the
hardware,
the
electronic
poll
books
and
things
of
that
nature.
We
already
have
those
things
now
in
terms
of
the
advertising
piece
of
our
budget
as
early
voting
becomes
a
part
of
our
voting
culture.
I
think
that
they'll
be
less
of
a
need
to
maybe
spend
as
much
as
we're
doing
now.
So
you
know
I
think
that's
something
that
we
can
keep
an
eye
on.
I
A
A
H
The
380,000
obviously
I'm
glad
you
asked
that
question
councillor
assad
me
George
I,
thought
that
we
did
do
it
in
the
primaries.
We
didn't
do
early
voting
in
the
primaries.
It
was
just
in
the
general
okay,
so
the
380,000
is
just
for
that
early
voting,
two
weeks
prior
to
the
November
election,
yes
and
and
I
know
I.
Think
you
answered
this
question
earlier,
but
you
haven't
really
kind
of
crunched
the
numbers
on
like
have
we
seen
an
increase
overall
kind
of
you
know.
H
F
F
There
is
no
clear
indication
that
you
can
actually
tie
early
voting
to
increase
and
turnout,
and
it's
also
more
difficult
to
do
that,
because,
when
you
consider
that
the
in
the
universe
of
voters
changes
over
time
in
2016,
for
example,
we
had
many
more
voters
than
we
did
the
year
prior
to
that.
We
had
over
400,000
voters
to
think
of
about
four
hundred
fifteen
thousand
voters.
F
So
when
you
have
a
more
voters
added
to
the
the
rules
that
affects
the
turnout
percentage,
but
in
fact
we
may
have
had
more
voters
vote
in
that
election
than
the
previous
election.
So
there's
some
statistical
things
that
you'd
have
to
look
at,
but
the
way
we've
always
approached
it
is
to
is
to
make
sure
that
we're
making
it
as
convenient
as
possible
that
we're
educating
public.
F
We
know
our
schedule
and
that's
available
to
them
and
we're
looking
at
the
numbers
of
people
who
turnout
at
the
sites
and
what's
effective,
what's
not
effective
and
that's
why
we
made
changes
from
2016
2018,
because
we
looked
at
the
numbers
and
the
average.
We
had
about
200
voters
per
hour
and
we
had
long
lines
almost
all
the
time
in
2016
and
we
realized
that
we
needed
a
bigger
window
of
time.
We
need
spaces
that
accommodated
more
people
and
more
voting
booths
more
people
at
the
check-in
table.
H
I
did
voter
early.
It
was
greatly
convenient.
There
was
a
lot
of
people
that
availed
themselves
of
that
2016
to
your
point
was
there
was
huge
lines
out
those
early
voting
polls
I'm
glad
to
hear
that
you're
kind
of
crunching
those
numbers
and
trying
to
make
it
less
cumbersome
to
vote
presidential
years.
So
thank
you
guys
for
the
work
that
you
do
in
your
whole
department.
Thank.
F
H
C
So,
thank
you.
I
just
want
to
echo
what
councilor
O'malley
was
saying
around
kind
of
their
early
voting
at
City
Hall
like
that
people
should
not
have
to
travel
out
of
town
or
have
a
doctor's
appointment
or
whatever
reason
they
may
have.
They
should
just
be
able
to
go
and
vote
I'm
wondering
what
kind
of
supports
I
think
in
addition
to
the
categories
that
you
you
mentioned
poll
workers
have
a
hard
time
voting
on
Election
Day,
particularly
if
they're
working
a
poll
that
is
not
their
own
poll.
What
kind
of
accommodations
are
given
to
them?
A
C
A
C
Have
we
talked
about
expanding
the
window
for
absentee
voting
at
all,
so
councilor
Flint's
point
around
fat
smelly?
You
know
people,
men
and
women
who
are
in
service
somewhere
else
or
college
students.
Are
we
thinking
about
expanding?
Have
we
ever
had
that
conversation
about
expanding
the
window
for
absentee
casting
an
absentee
ballot.
G
G
The
the
wide
enough
window
was
the
day
that
the
election
get
certified
from
the
primary
and
ballots
are
produced
and
when
we
want
to
receive
them,
they
were
in
the
mail
available.
So
it
could
be
within
a
week
to
10
days
that
we
do
receive
them.
But
it's
all
in
regards
to
finalize
in
the
election
ballots
being
printed
and
delivered
to
each
community.
A
Good,
so
very
much.
Thank
you
very
much,
commissioner.
Do
an
Irish
into
registrar
sub.
You
know,
Pia
Monti,
appreciate
your
time
and
attention
we're
going
to
go
to
the
second
panel
to
ask
that
maybe
you
stick
around
I
expect
you
to
probably
a
pretty
brief
panel,
but
as
a
courtesy
to
those
that
have
been
waiting.
So
you
know
that
Jonathan
Cohen
is
here,
can
also
George
Pillsbury
and
Gerald.
C
A
J
B
A
K
A
J
My
name
is
jonathan
cohn
I'm,
the
chair
of
the
issues
committee
with
the
progressive
Massachusetts
like
muck
mascot,
were
part
of
the
election.
Modernization
coalition
I
can
drainages
fresh
bra
thank
councillors
as
a
command
Janey
for
calling
this
hearing,
as
well
as
clarity,
O'malley,
I'm,
sorry,
George
and
formally
Nancy
Emma,
who
were
here.
My
name
is
known.
J
My
name
is
Jonathan
Cohen
I'd
share
the
issues
committee
with
progressive,
Massachusetts
or
statewide
grassroots
organization
committed
to
she's
like
shared
prosperity,
racial
and
social
justice,
sustainable
infrastructure,
environmental
protection
and
good
government
and
strong
democracy,
and
there's
no
better
way
to
strengthen
our
democracy
than
to
increase
the
accessibility
of
voting.
There
are
many
factors
that
determine
whether
or
not
an
eligible
voter
will
participate
in
an
election.
The
difficulty
that
an
individual
faces
when
attempting
to
vote
is
certainly
one
of
them.
J
Individuals
in
our
highly
unequal
City
have
busy
lives
dividing
their
day
between
going
to
work
or
school
caring
for
children
or
other
loved
ones,
running
errands
and
countless
other
tasks.
When
voters
can
only
cast
their
ballots
over
the
course
of
11
hours
on
one
day,
a
Tuesday
in
the
middle
of
a
local
school
and
work
week,
the
trade-offs
can
be
high
for
people.
Could
people
have
long,
commutes
take
night
classes
after
work
or
juggle
multiple
jobs
and
caring
for
children
or
their
family
members
certainly
counts
as
a
job
that
narrow
window
can
be
prohibitive.
J
Tuesday
elections
are
a
vestige
of
the
rural
society.
The
United
States
once
was,
unfortunately,
states
across
the
country
have
been
modernizing
their
election
administration
here
in
Massachusetts
back
in
2014,
the
Legislature
passed
in
Governor
Deval
Patrick
signed
election
modernization
package
that
brought
early
voting
to
Massachusetts
in
federal
forms,
like
that's
a
pre-registration
Saturday
that
we,
both
math
foe
and
kind
of
groups
like
the
League
of
Women,
Voters,
mass
burg
and
others
were
a
part
of
that
effort.
Early
voting
was
noted,
first
offered
in
2016
on
the
presidential
year.
J
What
about
one
in
every
six
voters
voted
early
and
last
year
about
one
in
every
eight.
There
were
only
elect
these
were
the
only
elections
for
which
was
offered
I'm
living
at
municipal
elections
as
well
as
primaries.
It's
worked
smoothly
and
and
should
be
expanded.
The
benefits
of
early
voting
are
clear
as
the
Brennan
Center
for
Justice
notes,
early
voting
means
reduced
stress
on
the
voting
system
on
election
day,
shorter
lines
on
Election
Day,
improved
poll,
worker
performance,
early
identification
and
correction
of
registration
errors
and
voter
system
glitches
and
increased
voter
systems.
J
Voter
satisfaction
I'll
note
one
of
the
points
that
no-fault
absentee
voting
came
up.
That's
common
practice
in
the
majority
of
states,
so
we
are
in
the
minority
and
not
making
it
so
that
you
kind
of
are
supposed
to
be
out
of
state
in
order
to
vote
vote
absentee,
whereas
I
know
I.
Think
of
states
in
your
bias,
with
Vermont
and
Maine,
have
no-fault
absentee
and
going
a
little
bit
south,
but
still
in
the
Northeast,
New,
Jersey
and
Maryland,
and
even
like
allowing
people
to
vote
by
mail
in
general
is
something
that
does
increase.
J
Increased
turnout,
although
like
California,
takes
forever
to
count
both,
but
that's
it
so
given
the
out
the
obstacles
that
individuals
face
when
trying
to
vote
the
experiences
that
they
have
when
voting
play
a
large
role
in
shaping
their
future
voting
patterns,
it
is
up
to
us
to
ensure
that
their
experiences
are
positive
ones.
Early
voting
helps
to
do
just
that.
So
expanding
this
important
reform
to
include
municipal
elections
is
a
sensible
next
step
that
benefits
first-time
voters,
returning
voters
poll
workers
and
everyone
who
cares
about
the
vibrance
of
our
democracy,
Thank.
A
K
K
K
We
go
I'm
Ian
key
I'm.
The
policy
director
over
at
NASA
vote,
I
apologize,
I
was
just
notified
last
minute,
show
Crawford
of
being
here
and
Jonathan
took
my
Brennan.
Center
quotes,
oh
yeah
Jonathan,
pretty
much
sums
it
up.
Obviously,
Massachusetts
is
being
looked
at
continually
time
and
time
again
as
being
that
leader
in
modern-day
elections.
K
We
are
very
much
behind,
unfortunately,
but
the
city
does
have
a
good
leadership
role
and
we
are
molding
in
the
Statehouse
at
that
level,
but
it's
definitely
up
to
the
city
to
promote
these
ideals,
so
that
not
only
can
we
be
helpful
at
the
local
level,
but
also
this
can
get
attention
at
the
federal
level,
especially
so.
Thank
you.
A
J
To
build
off
that
one
thing:
if
one
thing
that
was
noted
earlier
was
about
how
the
d
the
precincts
were
early
voting
with,
but
was
the
most
popular,
were
the
ones
that
were
just
we're
overly
large
precincts
in
the
city,
and
everyone
really
know.
One
thing
that
mass
vote
has
worked
on
is
the
repressing
king
of
the
City
of
Boston,
which
is
something
that
has
completely
hits
roadblocks
in
the
legislature,
even
though
designing
it
so
that
you
have
a
more
sensibly
sized
precincts.
J
It
is
intuitive
sensible,
but
early
voting
is
something
that
can
help
omit
it.
While
until
that
happens,
early
voting
can
help
mitigate
that
problem
by
making
sure
that
precincts
like
I,
know
that,
like
Ward
5
precinct,
one
which
I
don't
live
too
far
from
which
is
Chinatown
downtown
Bay
Village
in
the
south
end,
it's
the
largest
one
in
the
city
make
help
making
sure
that
people
who
live
in
such
precincts,
where
it's
often
sometimes
even
far,
for
them
to
get
to
their
voting
location,
because
of
how
how
large
it
is,
gives
them
a
better
opportunity.
J
B
Our
order,
I'm,
happy
I'll,
be
brief.
I
want
to
thank
you
both
for
being
here
for
your
organization's
support
and
Anand
Jonathan
I've
had
the
opportunity
work
with
you
on
a
lot
of
these
issues
over
the
last
couple
years
and
it's
been
a
great
resource.
So
I
appreciate
that
and
thank
you
for
making
the
time
to
be
here.
J
Would
say
yes
insofar
as
you
have
like,
whenever
people
are
able
to
pilot
any
type
of
new
policy
idea,
it
has
the
benefits
of
any
kinks
being
worked
out
early
and
any
best
practices
that
can
be
shared
with
other
cities
and
towns
and
have,
since
that
always
helps
to
mitigate
any
kind
of
any
potentially
well-meaning
but
well-meaning
or
unfound,
well-meaning
or
unfounded
concerns.
If
people
have
ahead
of
time
so
that
it
can
be
scaled
up
better
at
and.
B
K
Counselors
they
come.
You
said
the
point
you
know:
do
people
look
to
Boston
for
this
information
piloting
stuff
like
that?
Absolutely
you
know
election
day.
Registration
is
our
priority
legislation
for
this
session
and
every
time
I
go
into
the
small
town
offices.
Midsize
town,
you
know
reps,
they
all
ask
what's
Boston
doing
and
Commissioner
Irish
actually
spoke
with
us
gave
us
great
information
on
his
proposal.
So
we
do
have
that
detailed
information.
So
you
know
just
so.
You
know
our
voice
counts
here
very
much
in
Boston.
That.
C
Yes,
thank
you,
so
I
failed
to
mention
in
my
opening
that
I'm
a
founding
board
member
of
mass
vote.
So
big
fan,
thank
you
for
being
here
in
Cheryl's
absence
and
I
appreciate
all
the
work
that
you're
doing
at
the
state
level
or
that
we're
doing
at
the
state
level,
as
well
as
the
municipal
levels.
Thank
you
for
being
here
Jonathan.
Thank
you
for
all
the
work,
not
just
that
progressive
mass,
but
you
fail
to
mention
that
your
chair,
yeah.
C
Committee
and
you're
doing
amazing
work
there
to
really
engage
residents
of
Ward
4
in
this
process,
and
so
thank
you
for
all
of
that.
If
either
of
you
have
any
ideas
or
suggestions
that
weren't
already
mentioned
or
ones
that
you
kind
of
want
to
just
co-sign
on
in
terms
of
how
the
city
can
do
better
to
encourage
early
voting
when
we
do
have
it,
we
currently
don't
have
it
at
the
municipal
level.
G
Provisional
ballots
on
early
voting
days,
a
very
minimal
okay.
Most
of
the
problems
that
we
see
on
early
voting
days
is
people
that
have
requested
an
absentee
ballot
and
we
have
a
process
in
place
to
try
to
cover
our
tracks
to
make
sure
people
not
voting
twice
with
our
electronic
poll
books
will
indicate
to
the
poll
workers
whether
someone
requested
it
returned
the
ballot
and
whatever
the
case
may
be,
and
we
have
a
procedure
for
that.
But
on
Election,
Day
I
do
not
think
and
I
didn't
look
at
this
in
much
detail.
C
C
J
Alright,
that
one
thing
that
had
a
hearing
I
know
there
was
a
hearing
order
for
last
year
that
I
thought
I
would
love
to
see
the
council.
Take
up
this
year
was
the
idea
of
having
landlords
pride,
voter
registration
information
to
tenants
that
I
believe
Seattle
did
that
recently.
I
believe
it's
in
Minneapolis
yep
is
the
other
cities
that
have
done
that
recently,
since
the
city
already
requires
certain
information
to
be
as
part
of
like
a
package.
J
C
B
A
E
You
know
I
I,
don't
need
to
be
redundant
in
this.
This
is
something
that
we
really
ought
to
be
doing.
We
all
agree:
I
cannot
for
the
life
of
me,
think
of
where
the
opposition
would
come
from
other
than
perhaps
people
entrenched
in
power
who
don't
want
more
people
to
participate
in
their
civic
duty,
so
I
think
that
the
time
is
right
to
do
it
now.
Thank
you
all.
A
And
then
through
the
chair,
are
there
any
questions
that
the
Commissioner
register
I
have
of
our
panel
guest
or
a
panel
guests,
have
of
our
Commissioner
while
we're
here
good?
Thank
you.
So
that
will
conclude
Oh.
Actually,
you
know
what
there
is
an
opportunity
for
public
testimony.
I
know
that
Sarah
Gifford
had
signed
in
did
not
want
to
testify,
but
if
there
were
any
members
of
the
public
that
are
here
that
wish
to
offer
a
public
testimony
at
this
time,
may
do
so
or
forever
hold
your
peace.
A
Seeing
and
hearing
no
desire
for
any
additional
public
testimony
that
will
conclude
the
public
testimony
portion
and
by
way
of
wrap-up
I
guess.
The
goal
here
will
be
to
try
to
get
some
stuff
turned
around
through
the
committee.
Get
something
before
the
council
for
a
vote
get
something
over
to
Commissioner
Registrar
through
the
administration
for
a
signature
it
get
it
up
to
Beacon
Hill,
and
then
you
guys
can
help.
A
A
Don't
faulty-
and
that
was
it
they
get
so
very
good,
so
that
will
conclude
today's
hearing
in
the
community
and
governs
with
respect
to
docket
zero
one.
Three
zero
petition
for
a
special
law
and
act
authorizing
the
City
of
Boston
to
offer
early
voting
in
municipal
elections
appreciate
everyone's
time
and
attention
and
your
testimony
and
look
forward
to
working
with
you
as
we
move
forward.
Thank
you.