Voting Hours Extended for Town Elections

Seekonk voters will be able to get an early start on their ballots this year as the Board of Selectmen voted Wednesday night to open the polls at 7 a.m. rather than noon.

The issue of longer hours at the polls was raised last week by current candidate for the Board of Selectmen Gary Sagar.

Sagar pointed to the town charter, which states that “The polls shall be opened as early as a 7:00 o’clock in the forenoon and shall not be closed before 8:00 o’clock in the evening.”

Sagar had believed that the wording means the polls should always be opened at 7 a.m., not opening at noon as they have been the past few elections.

However, the town’s legal counsel advised that this is not the case as the phrase “as early as” implies that the town cannot open the polls earlier than 7 a.m., but can open later.

Regardless, Sagar believed the shorter hours had been reducing voter turnout.

“I for many years used to vote early in the morning. I don’t understand why we’re not opening the polls a 7 a.m. like we used to,” said Selectman Bob McClintock.

Selectman Dave Parker voted against the change to the earlier opening, saying it was not fair to poll workers and the town clerk, Jan Parker, to make the change this late to extend their work day from eight hours to 14.

Town Clerk Jan Parker, who was unable to attend the meeting, did send a letter to board addressing the issue, saying “I do not see that increasing the hours does anything aside from increasing the cost to the town.”

Jan Parker said the turnout for local elections is between 12 to 19 percent regardless of the time the polls opened.

The town election will be held on April 2 at Seekonk High School.