Some Bristle At Melrose Middle School Voting Being Permanent

MELROSE, MA — City councilors on Monday passed on endorsing a plan to make permanent centralized voting at the middle school. There were concerns about equity, a lack of public input and holding one big election at a school.

President Chris Cinella's proposal to keep all polling places consolidated to the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School gym split the lawmakers, with six against and five in favor.

If the order fails at the full City Council meeting March 7, which is very likely following the vote, it can't be refiled for six months. The next scheduled election is the Sept. 6 state primary — six months away.

Elections have been held at the middle school since 2020, when pandemic-related staffing shortages led the city to have voters in all 14 precincts go to the school. There's been a renewed push to keep them there after it was revealed some of the normal polling locations weren't up to state accessibility standards and may need to be closed.

Election officials have deemed the middle school move a success, even with some record-breaking turnout. But in-person voting was still tempered by the wide array of voting options, including no-excuse mail-in voting, which is not currently in effect in Massachusetts.

With that option off the table for now — and some acknowledging not everyone is comfortable voting by mail anyways — some councilors were concerned about what that would mean for residents.

"The question that I think we need to ask ourselves as a council is who are we leaving behind if we consolidate polling locations permanently?" Councilor Shawn MacMaster asked. "Because whether it's Mississippi or Massachusetts, closing polling locations always leaves vulnerable and marginalized people behind — the elderly, the indigent, communities of color and naturalized citizens."

MacMaster pointed to potential language barriers and transportation issues as examples.

Councilor Mark Garipay said he's concerned about the difficulty getting into and capacity of the middle school parking lot. He also wanted to hear more about options for fixing the compromised polling locations.

"I just think it's putting the cart before the horse," he said. "I don't think it necessarily has to be done today."

Councilors Robb Stewart, Manjula Karamcheti and Ryan Williams also hoped to open the conversation to the community before approving such a change. Councilor John Obremski, who didn't speak, was the other "no" vote.

A recurring concern was holding elections in a school.

Councilor Jen Grigoraitis, who supported the proposal, noted elections are the only time adults can enter schools without a CORI check.

"I think it's a no-brainer that we should not have our polling locations in elementary schools," Williams said. "I mean, our politics are divisive, they can be hostile. And personally, I've just never been comfortable with the idea that we might have school in session potentially at the same time that elections are going on because you can get circumstances where people tend to stage their campaigns out in front of the school."

Some voters have even wandered the halls — though Cinella said they were likely looking for the bathroom. Still, he was among those who acknowledged the validity of the concern.

Councilor Jen Grigoraitis, who supported the proposal, noted elections are the only time adults can enter schools without a CORI check.

The original polling locations include the city's schools, though none of them individually see anything like the turnout the consolidated middle school location sees.