Harassment of ballot staff and elections officers has already been a characteristic of this yr’s election cycle and the Department of Justice has been notified of the issue, in keeping with Secretary of State William Galvin.
“We’ve had, even here in Massachusetts, some of what I would describe as vigilante action by some individuals who believe some of the false rhetoric of the former president,” Galvin stated at a Thursday press convention.
The September main will probably be held Tuesday, however early voting started Saturday and runs via Friday.
Galvin stated that ballot staff have been bothered on the polling stations throughout previous elections and that the issue has prolonged to the harassment of elections officers.
He stated that supporters of the previous President Donald Trump have “engaged in harassment tactics of local election officials in their offices and we’ve had a number of recurring requests for documents that don’t exist.”
Galvin stated that no arrests have been made on account of the habits he described however confused that regulation enforcement can be concerned the place wanted if ballot staff are intimidated.
“We surely want to make sure that poll workers understand, and they do understand, they’ve been trained, we have training sessions, that our allegiance is to the voters. Individuals (that) are not appropriate at the polling place, if they engage in any kind of harassment or that kind of activity, we’ll certainly seek law enforcement help,” Galvin stated.
Galvin stated that threats of bodily hurt haven’t been documented, however that ballot staff have been photographed and makes an attempt to unearth the non-public info of election officers have occurred.
“We’ve discussed it broadly with local officials and we are concerned about it,” he stated. “We’re in contact with law enforcement about it, both the United States Department of Justice and state officials.”
The acknowledged goal of Galvin’s press convention was to offer an replace on the standing of early voting.
After the signing of the VOTES Act this summer season, which made everlasting a number of standard pandemic-era voting measures, Galvin stated that each early voting and mail-in voting proceed to indicate huge recognition. The secretary reported that over 700,000 mail ballots had been requested this yr and that 375,000 folks have already voted.
Galvin cautioned anybody who nonetheless has a mail-in poll to not use the mail to ship it in, because the Postal Service had knowledgeable his workplace {that a} poll could take seven days to reach. Galvin stated that native drop bins can nonetheless be used and that voters also can vote the standard means in particular person.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”