Melrose To Review Procedures After Thousands Left Off Voting List

MELROSE, MA — More than 11,000 unenrolled voters were left off the voting lists that were distributed across the city Tuesday morning, leading to some being told to return later to vote in a special House election.

Some voters were provided with provisional ballots, for which they were required to show identification. Other voters were told to simply come back later in the day.

All polling locations had a complete list of registered voters by about 9 a.m. Polls opened at 7.

"Despite an earlier problem, voting is now operating smoothly at all polling locations across the City of Melrose," City Clerk Amy Kamosa said.

There was no word on how many voters were told to return to the polls. There are 11,294 unenrolled voters in Melrose.

Kamosa told Patch she was working with poll wardens to make sure all registered voters have the opportunity to vote.

"Our highest priority is to ensure that anyone who is eligible to vote has the opportunity to do so," Kamosa said.

Officials in Malden and Wakefield confirmed to Patch there were no issues with the voting lists in their respective communities. The 32nd Middlesex District includes all of Melrose, Precincts 4, 5 and 6 in Wakefield and Ward 5 Precinct 2 in Malden.

"We will review our procedures to ensure that the same error does not happen in the future," Kamosa said.

Melrose City Councilor Kate Lipper-Garabedian coasted to victory in the special primary, which was for the 32nd Middlesex District seat formerly held by Mayor Paul Brodeur.

Read: Kate Lipper-Garabedian Wins Special House Primary

"I am grateful for all the voters throughout the District who came out to vote in this special election," she said in a statement Tuesday night. "Although there were voting issues for some Unenrolled voters in Melrose because of the accidental misprinting of official voter rolls, City officials quickly printed the proper books and set up a process for those accidentally left off the voter rolls to cast a ballot. Voting is a fundamental right that we can not take for granted. I hope that officials perform a thorough review to better understand how this happened so it never occurs again. And I would like to thank the voters of the 32nd Middlesex District for their confidence in me as we move on to the General Election."