Second New Bedford Precinct Had Issue With Republican Ballots

UPDATE: Jonathan Darling, Public Information Officer for the City of New Bedford, told WBSM Thursday morning that the actual estimated time that Precinct 1F was without Republican ballots on Tuesday was 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. He also confirmed that if one party's ballot was unavailable, voting still continued for those taking a Democrat or Libertarian ballot.

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — A second polling location in New Bedford’s Ward 1 had an issue with Republican ballots during Tuesday’s primary election.

As previously reported, Precinct 1D – located at Vibra Hospital – opened at 7 a.m. without any Republican ballots, which took until about 7:40 a.m. to arrive, according to a statement from the New Bedford Board of Election Commissioners.

WBSM learned Wednesday morning that a second polling location, Precinct 1F, ran out of Republican ballots at some point during the afternoon.

According to the report received, the location – located at the Christian Fellowship Center on Church Street – went without GOP ballots for “over an hour.”

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In response to an inquiry about this report, WBSM received the following statement from the Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday afternoon:

“The Board of Election Commissioners has determined that voting in the March 5 Republican Primary at the Christian Fellowship Center polling location was affected when Republican Primary ballots were not available for a brief period in the early afternoon. The Board of Election Commissioners and the City Solicitor’s Office have looked into the scope of the potential impact on Ward 1-F voters. A total of two voters were affected, and both returned later to successfully cast their ballots. The Board of Election Commissioners regrets any inconvenience and appreciates the effort of the two voters who returned to participate in the election. A review of all polling locations is also being conducted as a prudent additional step.”

The Board of Election Commissioners also said late Tuesday night that its investigation into the issue with Precinct 1D opening Tuesday without Republican ballots “found that eight voters were affected” and that “seven of the eight voters returned to cast their ballots.”

The MassGOP contacted the office of Secretary of State William Galvin about the issue, and the Secretary’s Office told WBSM on Wednesday that the response it received from the City was that “the New Bedford Elections Commission had mistakenly failed to pack Republican ballots into the supply box for that precinct.”

“Further, the warden in that precinct had failed to report the missing ballots before polls opened,” Debra O’Malley, Director of Communications for the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, told WBSM. “Poll workers are trained to account for all ballots before the opening of polls and report any missing ballots to the Elections Commission.”

“We will, of course, be following up with the City and their legal department to investigate and address this issue,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley also said that the Secretary’s Office had not received any reports of a New Bedford polling place running out of ballots “though we have asked the City to investigate this report from (WBSM).”

“At this time, we have received no complaints from any New Bedford voters about either of these issues,” O’Malley said.