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Bostonians voting in large numbers; some polling places run out of ballots

By adamg on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:04pm
The line inside the Bates.

Once people in the line outside the Bates got in, they got to stand in another line. Photo by Jessica Burko.

Update: At 7:36 p.m., the Boston Election Department reported that several precincts across the city had run out of ballots. Department said anybody in line at 8 would be allowed to vote.

Around 5:10 p.m., voting came to a halt at ward 18, precinct 10 at the Bates School in Roslindale: Poll workers had run out of ballots to give to voters.

More ballots showed up around 15 minutes later - but only 50, even as the line outside the school continued to grow.

Nearby, at the Conley School, workers put out little cones through the school play yard to mark off the line to get in - at a polling place that rarely see any lines at all. But even with the long two-page ballot, the line moved quickly.

Polling places across the city saw heavy turnout throughout the day.

By 7 p.m., 1,000 people had voted in ward 17, precinct 12 at the Taylor School in Mattapan - compared to 739 people total in the last election. And there was a long line.

Neighborhoods: 
Boston
Roslindale
Topics: 
Politics
Free tagging: 
2024 elections
Bates School


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Comments

By Jennifer Dines on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:11pm.

These are two different locations!

By adamg on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 8:05pm.

I will never NOT get those two mixed up.

By anon on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:22pm.

Cristo Rey in Savin Hill ran out too around 6:30. I got one of the last ones. More were coming by police escort according to the neighbors.

By Keiko on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:24pm.

After I did the candidate voting and then questions 1 and 2 (all on page one), I realized I'd better vote in numeric sequence of the questions so I didn't miss any.

And thank heaven the worker handing over the ballots was warning everyone that there are six questions! I had reviewed them this morning and none of the web sites I visited mentioned a 6th question! The other worker at the table also didn't know about the 6th question as she had just arrived.

The 6th question people must have just made the cut off to get the ballots to the printer.

Edited to add research: MassCare put a 6th non-binding question on the ballot for 11 districts. https://masscare.org/ballot-question-2024/

Quote: “Shall the representative for this district be instructed to vote for legislation to create a single-payer system of universal health care that provides all Massachusetts residents with comprehensive health care coverage including the freedom to choose doctors and other health care professionals, facilities, and services and eliminates the role of insurance companies in health care by creating an insurance trust fund that is publicly administered?” quote from this link: https://www.westernmassnews.com/2024/11/05/sixth-ballot-questions-causes... /

By Zhu Hengpeng on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:42pm.

Wait, what? What was the 6th question?

By mg on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:48pm.

Was the sixth question a Boston question rather than state?

By Ron Newman on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 8:04pm.

Any additional ones were specific to your city or town. For instance, Somerville voted on whether to increase the Community Preservation Act property tax surcharge.

By Zhu Hengpeng on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 7:42pm.

Save the trees!

By Zhu Hengpeng on Tue, 11/05/2024 - 8:45pm.

Office of Election Process Sustainability and Extendability (OEPSE)