Is One Polling Station Enough for Seekonk?
All Seekonk voting will take place at the high school. Selectman Gary Sagar says there should be two stations.
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If you plan to vote Tuesday in Seekonk, prepare to wait in a long line. Voter turnout in the last presidential election exceeded 75 percent, with more than 7,200 people casting ballots. But in that election four years ago, there were four polling stations. This year, all voting will take place at Seekonk High School. Selectman Gary Sagar says that could be a problem.
Sagar has long supported having two polling locations in Seekonk. He raised the issue at the recent Board of Selectmen meeting after Selectman David Parker encouraged residents to register absentee to avoid lines.
"This will be an absolute, great test to see how well one polling place does," he said. "I hope a lot of people aren't discouraged because they can't get into the parking lot at the high school."
An item on the agenda for the selectmen meeting on Wednesday includes a proposal from Sagar for the town to have two polling locations for all future elections. Town Clerk Jan Parker, who is married to Selectman Parker, said this was not needed.
"It is the trend to use one polling place because it saves money," said Jan Parker in a recent interview with Seekonk Patch. "And also, it's much more efficient. An example is if someone comes to the wrong polling place, you just have to move them over in the line rather than tell them to go to a different location."
Selectmen voted in 2009 to reduce the number of locations as a cost-saving method recommended by Jan Parker. Voter turnout is not high in Seekonk for most elections. Nearly 27 percent of voters participated in the last regular town election, and that was considered a success. So this will be the first election in which the system will be tested.
Seekonk is not unique with the one-station policy. This is also being done Tuesday in the nearby towns of Norton, Berkley, Dighton, Mansfield and Swansea. The neighboring town of Rehoboth, which has a similar-sized population to Seekonk, has three voting locations.
Jan Parker told Patch there will be long lines for voting, but that is because there is a large ballot. She said the Secretary of State's office in Boston has told her not to discourage people from voting absentee as a way to reduce lines on Election Day. She said she told her husband to talk about the absentee option during selectmen meetings.
If the state government is telling municipal clerk's not to discourage all residents from voting absentee, it is going against what is stated in the Massachusetts General Laws. Chapter 54, Section 86 states residents can vote absentee if they plan to be away on Election Day, have physical disabilities or religious beliefs that prevent them from going to the polls. The section does not specifically state people who do not meet those criteria cannot vote absentee.
Sagar said the town should not be encouraging people to vote absentee unless they meet one of the three criteria.
"Massachusetts general law is very specific as to the reasons why you can [vote absentee]," Sagar said. "And if we don't have the proper resources for people to vote, then that's why I suggested we have two polling stations."
How many polling stations should there be in Seekonk? Vote on our poll question and share your thoughts in the comment section.
paul
7:42 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Attleboro has six polling locations, Seekonk has one because the town clerk wants it that way. One lady has made the decision for all of us and she's wrong. One poll is keeping voters away and we are not a poor town. Rehoboth has 3 locations, what is wrong with our town?
Carol Bragg
7:48 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Paul: The decision was NOT made by the Town Clerk. She only made the recommendation, based on what other communities were doing to save money and also on the fact that Seekonk has such low voter turnout. The decision was made by the Board of Selectmen. Perhaps this needs to be re-evaluated for Presidential elections, the only time most people vote, but it's not fair to make false accusations.
deb of see-attleboro
7:53 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
So thats Mrs Parker's justification for one polling place? The rest of us must be Inconvenienced because of one functional idiot who shows up at the wrong poll?
IF (and that's a BIG if) IF the secretary of state told Mrs Parker to allow everyone to vote absentee, he probably did so because one polling place could be considered an obstructionist tactic used by town hall. Just a thought.
Jonathan Friedman
8:06 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Come on Deb, you're selectively restating what's in the article. Jan Parker said she recommended one location as a cost-saving method. She noted the issue of people going to the wrong location as a benefit she sees of having one station.
deb of see-attleboro
8:19 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
This is true, Jonathan. At the time, all department heads were asked to find ways to save money. IMO, this plan was penny wise and pound foolish. We have something like 8 or 9 thousand registered voters. The savings per voter is pennies. This change is a local example of how government does not value it's citizens. And, IMO, it is a glaring example.
Carol Bragg
7:56 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Some questions: Why do we have to scapegoat people? Why do we have to see everything as right or wrong, good or evil? Why is it not possible to acknowledge that the Town Clerk was likely operating in what she felt was the best interest of the town in saving money by reducing the number of polling places, even if we think she made a mistake and we disagree with the decision? Reasonable people can have different points of view. We seem unreasonable in the way we carry out dialogue.
paul
7:59 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
She wanted one polling place and that's the way it is now. Why are you playing the money card? This is not about money, it's about one person getting their way. This is why her husband will always be a conflict of interest. Carol, I wish I had all day to hang at the polls and see all my old classmates, but I have a job.
deb of see-attleboro
8:01 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
FYI: For those who choose to avoid the headaches tomorrow, I think applications for absentee ballots are available until noontime today.
deb of see-attleboro
8:24 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
In all fairness, I would like to commend the BOS for heading in the right direction by returning to 7am - 8pm for all elections. Maybe that was just the beginning.
Amy
8:33 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Why not have 2 polling stations every 4 years? Seekonk is always saying we have no money and how we have to cuts costs. Fine, but every 4 years to spend a little money that benefits all citizens? I don't see a downside.
Mr. Seekonk
11:08 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Great idea! Thinking outside the box, simple yet effective!!
Joe
9:01 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Read the article in todays Sun Chronicle. 10 surrounding communities (including Seekonk) 7 have 1 polling place, 1 (North Attleboro) has 2 polling places, 1 (Rehoboth) has 3 polling places, and 1 (Attleboro) has 6 polling places. I maybe wrong but I don't remember seeing articles in the paper from the other 6 communities about needing MORE voting places. The kind of turnout expected this Tuesday does not happen (unfortunately) very often. Why haven't more voters in Seekonk stepped forward to complain about just 1 polling place if this is such a problem???
Amy
9:11 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
We don't live in the other communities and maybe it works there. It dosn't work in Seekonk.
Joe
11:34 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
If it doesn't work in Seekonk then as I stated before why haven't the voters in Seekonk, who have a problem with this, stepped forward with their complaints???
Carol Bragg
12:24 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
People rarely step forward with complaints in Seekonk and virtually no one attends Selectmen's meetings for any reason, including when this subject has been discussed. All of a sudden people are angry, even furious, wanting to blame Mrs. Parker for a decision made by the Board of Selectmen. Some people apparently have a need to cast blame rather consider what they may have contributed to the problem. Add to this the tension people feel just prior to a very close Presidential election and some folks lose any sense of perspective. The number of polling places can't be changed for tomorrow. There's no point in getting bent out of shape, being hostile, or raising one's blood pressure. And there's also no point in trying to make Mrs. Parker feel bad. Look at the mess in New York and New Jersey and be thankful. If you'd lost your home, were still without power, or were unemployed, you wouldn't be fretting about the inconvenience of standing in line tomorrow to vote. People have been waiting in line in New Jersey for hours simply to buy $40 worth of gas. You will survive tomorrow, and you can attend the Selectmen's meeting on Wednesday night and air your grievances during Community Speaks.
paul
12:56 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Carol you are right, people rarely step forward with complaints. We shouldn't have to, that's why we elect officials. All of a sudden people realize that a fast one has been pulled. You are the only person in camp Parker, glad you are loyal. The rest of the town wants one of our polling places back, are we all wrong?
deb of see-attleboro
1:12 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
I also think a thorough survey should have been done before this change was made. Mr Carroll claimed to be all about customer service. LOL!
Amy
12:24 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Because not everyone has access to the Patch?
Amy
12:26 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
I really don't understand why everything is an argument in Seekonk. Again, what is the downside to having 2 polling places every 4 years? Regardless of what other towns or cities are doing.
Amy
12:41 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Hopefully this can be resolved in 4 years. Good to start early.
Carol Bragg
12:46 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
From the mess that took place in Florida over the weekend with early voting, it looks like we need a Federal and state holiday every 4 years for the Presidential election.
deb of see-attleboro
1:09 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
What is going on down there? I heard the lines are so long because there are so many questions on the ballot. Is that true?
deb of see-attleboro
1:06 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
What is the downside of having two or more for every election? Do we want every voter to vote in every election or not?
I also do not understand why they stopped putting up the signs to remind people of voting.
Carol Bragg
7:32 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
paul: I didn't say there should be only one polling place. I'm not sure where you got that idea. What I was trying to point out is that it's possible to have different points of view without attacking people. You've turned the question about whether there should be one polling place or two polling places into a personal attack on the Parkers and don't seem to recognize that issues can be argued and debated without attacking individuals. Why would anyone want to attack individuals rather than try to win them over with the strength of his or her arguments and civility?
If there are two polling places, consideration should be given to location. The high school is close to the geographical center of town. Putting one polling place in the center of town and one closer to the north end will upset people in the south end. If there are two polling places, perhaps they should be Hurley and Martin schools and not the high school.
Julie
7:06 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Seems to scare people away -long lines, no parking...thought goal was for everyone who wanted to vote to be able to, and not by absentee ballot instead.....
Todd Ouellet-Pc Express Computers
7:45 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Seekonk has big issues. First we need to clean house on the next opportunity with our selectmen. There are some people that have been involved in the decisions of this town for far too long. They make porr choices and are out of touch. That's just one issue. The other is the people of seekonk need to pay attention.
Michael Kreyssig
8:59 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
My only complaint with voting at SHS is the lack of direction when it comes to parking. I usually look for the sign holders, but I always feel like I am driving in the wrong way. Other than that there are 4 lines for the 4 precincts. When there were 4 different locations I don't recall there being multiple lines to check in.
deb of see-attleboro
6:12 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
If we can convince the BOS to agree on two polling places, I would prefer we used the library and town hall or the public safety complex. I also think it is a bad idea to change it up every four years.
Jonathan Friedman
5:52 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Deb, that would be a rough parking situation to have voting at Town Hall.
deb of see-attleboro
6:30 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I don't recall complaints when it was precinct 3. I think it could easily accommodate 3 & 4 if the employees would agree to park next door at the public safety complex. Or just put 3 & 4 at the public safety complex. Just a suggestion.
Carol Bragg
6:34 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Town Hall doesn't have the space for two precincts -- only the large meeting room used for the Board of Selectmen. Perhaps the new Senior Center when it's built which will have a large multipurpose room. The library has been used in the past but only for one precinct. One of the great things about the high school today was the one-way flow of people through the polling place. At the library and at Town Hall the rooms that would be used have only one entrance/exit, unless the emergency exits are used. This slows down voting time.