Hull taxpayers might need to fork over roughly $20,000 when polls reopen for 2 hours in mid June after a raging fireplace prevented some residents from casting ballots through the May municipal election.
Polls might be open June 13 between 5:30 and seven:30 p.m. at Hull High School for any residents who couldn’t entry the city’s lone polling place on May 15 because of the fireplace, officers introduced Wednesday.
A Brockton Superior Court justice final week ordered the small South Shore city to reopen the polls for 2 hours to make sure all residents had equal entry to vote within the annual election, which officers say has had the strongest voter turnout in years.
Justice Brian S. Glenny additionally dominated final Friday the roughly 2,480 votes forged in May can be counted, approving the city’s second emergency movement.
“Despite the time and effort it has taken to get to this point, we are proud that we reacted quickly to protect the interests of all the voters of our good town,” Hull Town Clerk Lori West wrote in a letter to residents. “This effort is not, and was never, about a particular candidate, or about winning or losing an election. Instead, it was about ensuring the rights of all of the Town’s voters to participate in our democratic process.”
Glenny rejected the city’s preliminary emergency movement, saying officers didn’t obtain permission to increase voting hours from 8 to 10 p.m., which he argued invalidated the 80 ballots forged through the extra hours.
The justice additionally mentioned regardless of the “good faith effort” by city officers to alert residents of the chance, “there exists a real likelihood that citizens were disenfranchised.”
Residents discovered in regards to the prolonged hours by means of a robocall, a discover posted on the police division and city web sites, and an announcement on the native cable tv channel.
The six-alarm fireplace broke out simply after 5:30 p.m. at a house on Q Street, just a little over 2 ½ miles away from Hull High School, the city’s lone polling place. The solely solution to get to the varsity is through Nantasket Avenue, a predominant street that runs the size of the peninsula.
Emergency responders closed Nantasket Avenue to visitors at P Street, blocking entry to the portion of the street that results in the highschool. The street reopened round 7 p.m.
“In closing, we are pleased that Judge Glenny has affirmed our decision on election night to enfranchise voters,” West wrote in her letter. “Although challenged by circumstances beyond our control, we feel confident that the Town’s efforts to protect the rights of all Town voters to participate in the election were successful.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”