Massachusetts Sneaks In Vote-by-Mail Extension [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Sometimes, it's as if Beacon Hill doesn't care about us.

Silently, both Democrats and Republicans were conniving to keep out of sight a public bill that extends the new universal mail-in voting through the end of June. Other than platitudes from the media, we haven't seen any fact-finding studies to show whether this new system is honorable or below the mark. What are the strengths and weaknesses of it?

Despite that, has any public servant explained why the absentee voting system is being rubbished all of a sudden? Absentee voting is in the U.S. Constitution but there is no mention of universal mail-in voting.

There's a lot of secrecy involved in the crafting of laws. I guess they think the less we know, the more governance they get. For instance, this week, House leadership and lawmakers moved to extend the new universal mail-in voting through June 30, 2021, without holding any public hearings. We were deprived of a debate and a roll call before they shoehorned through a controversial piece of legislation. What's worse is it was an informal House session attended by all of three representatives.

There are some critical questions that haven't been addressed with regard to the new universal mail-in voting. It was the first time ever that a major change like that has been made to elections, but without an examination of the legislation. It wasn't that long ago that the Massachusetts Senate quietly tucked it into the budget that had to pass.

I'm told that the intent of an informal session is to bring up non-controversial bills. So I'm guessing the three pols must have found a way around that rule?

There was no discussion, no back-and-forth, no give-and-take. This is absolutely disgraceful.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.