New Bedford Precinct Starts Primary Election Without Republican Ballots

UPDATE NO. 2 (9:50 p.m.): This statement was provided by the Board of Commissioners late Tuesday night:

“As described in an earlier statement by the Board of Election Commissioners, voting in the Republican Primary at the Vibra Hospital polling location was affected when Republican Primary ballots were not available for a brief period in the early morning. The Board of Election Commissioners has investigated the scope of the potential impact on Ward 1-D voters and found that eight voters were affected. They were encouraged to return and indicated they would attempt to do so by the end of the day. Shortly before polls closed Tuesday night, seven of the eight voters had returned to cast their ballots. The Board of Election Commissioners regrets any inconvenience and appreciates the effort of those voters who returned to participate in the election.”

UPDATE (2:50 p.m.): The New Bedford Board of Election Commissioners provided the following statement as an update to this story:

“As described in an earlier statement by the Board of Election Commissioners, voting in the Republican Primary at the Vibra Hospital polling location was affected when Republican Primary ballots were not available for a brief period in the early morning. The Board of Election Commissioners has investigated the scope of the potential impact on Ward 1-D voters and found that approximately 7-8 voters were affected. They were encouraged to return and indicated they would attempt to do so by the end of the day. By noon, approximately 6 of the originally affected voters had returned to successfully cast their ballots. The Board of Election Commissioners regrets any inconvenience and appreciates the effort of those voters who returned to participate in the election.”

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Voters at one precinct in New Bedford’s Ward 1 that were looking to cast a Republican ballot in Tuesday’s presidential primary had to wait a little longer to do so.

When the polls opened at 7 a.m., Ward 1, Precinct D – located at Vibra Hospital – had Democrat and Libertarian ballots, but no Republican ballots.

“We can confirm that, at Vibra Hospital (Ward 1, Precinct D), Republican primary ballots were not delivered as they should have when polling equipment and materials were first delivered. Voting resumed when a supply of ballots was delivered from City Hall,” the Board of Election Commissioners said in a statement provided to WBSM.

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Joanne Hodgson, candidate for the Republican State Committee, called into WBSM’s SouthCoast Now with Chris McCarthy to share what she had learned.

Hodgson said she attempted to call the office of Election Commissioner Manny DeBrito and was put through to his voicemail. She then contacted the Massachusetts Republican Party, and said that John Milligan, Executive Director of the MassGOP, reached out to the office of Secretary of State William Galvin to put in an official complaint.

According to Hodgson, the following response is what was provided to the Secretary of State’s Office from the New Bedford Election Commission:

“Apparently when packing the supply boxes, they missed the Republican ballots. The City election department was made aware of the issue by the warden at 7:15 (a.m.), and were able to rectify it by 7:40, as this precinct is on the other side of the city. Despite having received specific training to count all ballots prior to opening and contacting the election office with any issues, the warden in Ward 1 failed to do that.”

Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette went down to Precinct 1D as soon as he heard about the situation.

“I was told they had to turn away about 11 Republican voters, so hopefully those 11 Republican voters come back to vote,” Choquette told WBSM. “I’m frustrated about the disruption in the democratic process for both parties and anyone coming in to vote.”

New Bedford Voting Machines an Issue Again

There were also reports that voting machines were not working at different locations in the city. According to WBSM callers, there were issues at 1D (Vibra Hospital), 1B (CareOne) and 3F (Bayberry Apartments).

“Myself and the Election Commission office are aware of the situation surrounding the voting machine in Ward 3, Precinct F," Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver told WBSM. "I apologize for this unforeseen situation, however (I am) confident the Election Commission is working quickly to correct the issue in order to minimize the number of those affected.”

The Board of Election Commissioners said the 3F machine "had a small jam that was fixed in two minutes."

The Board of Election Commissioners also provided the following statement:

“There was an electrical problem with a voting machine at CareOne (Ward 1, Precinct B). There was no disruption in voting as elections staff followed the standard protocol in which ballots continue to be received and placed in a secure tray. A replacement machine is then installed and any ballots received in the interim are fed into the new machine.”

As for the 1D machine issue, WBSM was sent photos from a voter concerned about just how secure those votes were as they awaited the machine to be repaired. It is important to note that there is a police officer providing a detail at every precinct.

Choquette said he waited at Precinct 1D for the machine to be replaced; he said it was fixed shortly before 11 a.m.

“It’s the same machine, but somebody came over from the election commission,” Choquette said. “Someone had put in two trays instead of one so the machine jammed up, so that means it was not checked before it was set up. It’s fine now.”

The same precinct also had an issue during the November 2022 election, when the voting machine was jamming and had to be repaired, with some voters calling into WBSM and saying they were instructed to just leave their ballots on a chair for entering into the machine later.

In addition, it was the same precinct where during Choquette's election in November 2023, "Vote Here Today" signs were put outside of the polling location a day before the election, sparking confusion and concern among Ward 1 voters.