Police officers were authorized to activate their cruiser lights and sirens to deliver more ballots to a polling location in Hyde Park early Tuesday evening, according to multiple published reports.
In a statement, Secretary of State William L. Galvin’s office said, “Unfortunately, it appears that the Boston Elections Department chose not to send all ballots in their possession to polling places” earlier, WCVB-TV reported.
The statement said polling places in Roslindale and West Roxbury also ran low or had run out of ballots.
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn posted on social media that the poll at Cathedral High School in the South End ran out of English-only ballots.
A Boston city spokesperson said the Elections Department “has been working urgently to remedy this through coordinating delivery of additional ballots to precincts with the help of Boston Police and contacting all polling locations to anticipate and prevent further ballot shortages,” the spokesperson continued. “We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion, and are grateful for the diligent efforts of poll workers throughout the city to ensure that every voter can exercise their right to vote. Any voter in line by 8:00 p.m. at their polling location will be able to vote, and polling places will remain open to guarantee this access.”
