Should Taunton voters be asked for an ID? Poll workers to get refresher on rules

TAUNTON — The city's election chief said that while there's room for improvement in how Taunton administers elections, she's satisfied with progress so far.

"I don't want to say we're a well-oiled machine," Election Director Pamela Menconi told city Councilors last week, "but we are on our way to being that."

Menconi's job remains relatively new. Last year's preliminary and general elections were the first under her leadership. Previously, the city clerk had administered elections.

Menconi said there were "bumps in the road" during the 2021 preliminary election, such as poll workers getting used to new technology. She cited a bar being left down on a voting machine when it should have been up.

She also said some poll workers struggled with the "poll pads." These are electronic voting lists that, supporters of the technology say, make voting quicker.

"Many of the bumps we experienced in September were ironed out and did not resurface," she wrote in a letter to council members recapping the fall elections.

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Menconi's office has three elections to run in 2022: The March referendum on Bristol-Plymouth Regional Tech's $305 million makeover and primary and general elections in September and November for governor, U.S. representative, district attorney and other state and regional offices.

ID is optional but speeds up the process

Several councilors pressed Menconi on how poll workers requested IDs, including City Councilor Barry Sanders.

"When a poll worker leads with, 'Do you have an ID,' it implies there's an expectation that they have to produce the ID," said Sanders.

State law allows for poll workers to ask for ID, but only in narrow circumstances: For first-time voters in federal elections and for voters listed as inactive.

"When you have a paper list, it's thumbing through each page," Menconi explained. "When you have the poll pad you type the name and it pops up. It's an easier check-in."

City Councilor David Pottier, the board's longest-serving member and a member of the Republican City Committee, said Monday that a vibrant democracy depends on eligible people voting.

"With the new systems, I know I'm going to be asked [for an ID], so I present it willingly," Pottier said at last week's council meeting. "I understand I don't have to, but it speeds the process."

'People were being pretty much forced to show their license'

City Councilor Estele Borges, chair of the Democratic City Committee, said the committee has had a lot of conversation around how poll workers requested IDs.

"The past election, people were being pretty much forced to show their license," she said Friday.

Menconi, in her remarks to council, said better signage and continued poll worker training would address the ID issue.

Kathryn Cunningham, who has for decades been active in the Democratic City Committee, said elections must be administered transparently.

"Don't make it harder for people to vote," Cunningham said in public comments at last week's City Council meeting. "If you're an active voter, no one should be asking you for an ID."

Cunningham also spoke in favor of continued in-person early voting. That option won't be available for the March 5 B-P referendum, and the state has not announced whether it will be required for the September preliminary. Menconi said she expected the state would require in-person early voting for the November election.

Should in-person early voting be continued?

There are costs associated with in-person early voting, including overtime for election workers and police details. Menconi didn't cite an exact figure, saying it would depend on whether one week or two weeks of in-person early voting might be offered.

For the upcoming school construction referendum, polls will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. Absentee ballots will be available for those who qualify, Menconi said in a letter to councilors. However, early voting in person and "no excuse" vote by mail will not be offered. The deadline for residents to request an absentee ballot by mail is Tuesday, March 1. Such requests can be made until noon on Friday, March 4 in person at the Election Department office.

City elections 'come a long way'

Another longtime observer and participant in Taunton elections, Jody Fiore, said that recent frustrations with new technology aside, that major improvements have taken place since the city hand-counted paper ballots and wards varied significantly by size.

"I think things have come a long way over the years," said Fiore, a current School Committee member and former chairman of the Republican City Committee.

Borges said that overall it's been a good thing for the city that election administration was taken off the plate of the city clerk.

"It was too much work for the city clerk to do all that," Borges said Friday. "We really needed somebody. It's something that was talked about for a very long time. You need to have someone who that's all they do."

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton elections: Council asks about voter ID process