Did 66 people try to vote illegally in Truro? Hearings on voter challenges begin

TRURO — Town officials, residents and property owners of Truro traded barbs and testimony in an at-times tense series of proceedings Monday evening when the town Board of Registrars began hearings on 66 voter registration challenges filed with the town. The challenges called into question the eligibility of certain registrants and set in motion a process that will likely run through Friday.

Residents who appeared before the board spoke of defending their right to vote and feeling targeted by town officials, while resident Raphael Richter, who filed the challenges and once served on the Provincetown Select Board, argued he was protecting the town’s voter integrity.

“For anyone who may have been caught on a complaint that is in fact a legitimate voter, I apologize for taking your time,” Richter said. “With that said, the data clearly shows that something strange is afoot in Truro when it comes to voter registration, especially so close to a special town meeting.”

Prior to the Monday hearings, 23 people previously named in the challenges either had their complaint withdrawn or were no longer registered to vote in the town, according to documents obtained by the Times.

Six of the nine voter registration challenges presented to the board were deemed insufficient to be struck from the voter roll, while three challenges were upheld and resulted in the individuals in question being taken off the voter roll.

Donna Brewer, an attorney representing several of those named in the complaints, said during the hearings she would consider appealing the board’s decision to uphold the challenges, a process which would involve filing a case through Superior Court.

“The bias of the law is always in favor of the voter,” said Brewer, a partner at Harrington Heep practicing municipal law. “You really need compelling evidence that they’re not eligible to vote here, and a number of these people have just been transitioning to Truro.”

Residency for voting purposes is state law

Residency for voting purposes is defined by state law as a person’s domicile, which Brewer said is the center of a person’s business, social, civic and domestic life. She said the standard of proof is not based solely in documentation — such as property and tax records — but also in a person’s actions such as the amount of time spent in a place.

“In the end, what you have to consider is the clearest intent or clearest evidence of (where) they consider to be their home, where they live and where they concentrate their social, civic and domestic activities,” Brewer said. “And for my clients, that’s Truro.”

Part-time Resident Taxpayers' Association spurs registration drive

The hearings come three months after the Truro Part-time Resident Taxpayers' Association emailed its members in August encouraging them to change their voter registration to Truro so they could vote in the since-rescheduled Oct. 21 special town meeting.

On Oct. 21, Town Moderator Paul Wisotzky officially opened the meeting and immediately continued it to a later date so town officials had time to investigate alleged illegal voter registrations.

When convened, the special town meeting will consider competing proposals for a new Department of Public Works facility — at a cost ranging from $15 million to $35 million — and a housing proposal to build 160 affordable units on a roughly 70-acre plot near Truro Central School known as the Walsh property.

For the voter challenges, Richter cross-referenced names on a list of voters on the official Truro voter rolls who had registered on or after July 1 using publicly available tax, assessor and property information, he said in an email to the Times. That cross-referencing determined the list of individuals whose voter registration Richter said he is challenging.

Community members who oppose the voter registration challenge hearings called the town’s procedures voter intimidation and suppression.

All of the individuals called before the board claimed their Truro registration status was legitimate, describing their lives in town and explaining their frustrations navigating the complexities of the voter registration process.

“The last time I changed my voter registration was, you know, 20 years ago,” said Karen Kinsella during her statements before the board. “Most people are not conversant in Massachusetts state law and don’t know every twist and turn in terms of what they need to do.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: At 1st Truro board hearing some voter challenges upheld, others denied