Boston’s Elections Department Revamped in Advance of Preliminary Elections

Boston voters who headed to the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 9, for the city's preliminary elections witnessed several changes to the election process.

According to a WBUR Public Media report, the city revamped its election procedures after several polling locations ran out of ballots during the 2024 presidential election.

For Tuesday's election, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said that precincts will be given "enough ballots for every voter and extras in case voters make a mistake on their ballot and need a new one," according to WBUR. Four candidates for the city's mayoral race and several Boston city councilor candidates appeared on the ballot.

"We're very confident all the ballots that will be necessary for the voters will be in place at the polling place," Galvin said in advance of Tuesday's voting. "They will not have any risk of running out of ballots."

In addition to ensuring a dedicated staff would be available to take care of calls from voters and poll workers, Galvin said that poll workers would have a direct line to election office staff in case any problems arise.

The city also expanded the use of electronic check-in devices called "Poll Pads" across all 275 precincts to accelerate the check-in process. Poll Pads, which have been in place for early voting since 2016, are a new Election Day addition. To use the devices, voters check in with a poll worker, receive a ballot, complete the ballot, and cast a ballot as usual at a voting precinct.

According to WBUR, the top two candidates who received the most votes in the mayoral race and each of the city councilor races from Tuesday's preliminary election will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.

Galvin confirmed with WBUR that the Boston Election Department would remain in a receivership until his office is "satisfied" that all prior problems associated with voting from 2024 have been addressed.