“So outrageous”: Mass. Secretary Galvin criticizes Boston over election problems

Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said Wednesday that he would likely appoint a receiver to oversee the work of the Boston Election Commission after several polling places in the city were left without ballots or a way to contact election officials.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Galvin voiced sharp criticism of the commission for what he called “egregious” deficiencies in its preparation for Tuesday’s elections.

Although hundreds of thousands of ballots were provided to the commission, it did not provide some polling places in remote areas of the city such as Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park and West Roxbury with enough ballots to satisfy voter turnout.

When poll workers tried to reach the commission and request more ballots, they were unable to do so, according to Galvin.

“You can’t conduct an election without answering the phone at the elections department, but that’s exactly what they tried to do yesterday,” he said. “This is a self-inflicted wound.”

• Read more: Mass. Secretary Galvin launches investigation into Boston election “irregularities.”

The lack of ballots at polling stations forced poll workers to send new ballots to polling stations in police cars with lights and sirens on to maneuver through evening traffic.

His office was also forced to send staff to the Election Commission to ensure poll workers could receive their ballots.

“That’s just not the way we run elections in Massachusetts,” Galvin said.

Galvin said other municipalities with large voter turnouts, such as Cambridge and Worcester, do not face the same problems.

In a letter Wednesday, Galvin said his office would launch an investigation into the commission’s failures on Tuesday.

That investigation will likely end with his office appointing a receiver to oversee operations indefinitely until possible future problems are resolved.

Galvin noted that he took similar actions in 2006.

“Unfortunately I had to do this before, [it] “This must not happen again,” he said. “The city must be accountable and take responsibility.”