City Takes Steps to Ensure Safe and Secure General Election

NEW BEDFORD – Mayor Jon Mitchell was joined by Police Chief Paul Oliveira, members of the Board of Election Commissioners, and other City officials Wednesday to highlight measures being put in place to ensure a safe and smooth Election Day for voters headed to the polls next Tuesday.

“Multiple City departments have been planning and coordinating for several months to make sure we have a safe and secure Election Day,” Mayor Mitchell said. “We have invested significantly in additional staffing, training, and equipment. And we’ve made operational changes so that the City has the flexibility and resources to respond to any contingency. For security reasons, we are refraining from detailing all our efforts, but our smooth experience with early voting over the past two weeks is an early positive indicator.”

Among the measures the City is taking on Election Day:

  • Stationing a uniformed police officer at every polling location from open to close. Select poll locations have been assigned additional officers. Plain clothes officers will also be deployed throughout the City and will be available to supplement police presence at polls as needed.
  • The main City Hall entrance on William Streett will be closed on Nov. 5.  The public is asked to use the side entrance on Sixth Street. City Hall will have extra security throughout the day.
  • Additional lighting will be deployed at several locations around the City to enhance safety in the evening hours. Additional lighting will be used at Moose Lodge, Hayden-McFadden School, Buttonwood, Bayberry Apartments, Boys & Girls Club, Carney Academy, and the Hathaway and Campbell Schools.
  • The New Bedford Police Department will be in close communication throughout Election Day with Mass. State Police, the FBI, and others in law enforcement monitoring for any potential interference in election activity.
  • New Bedford Police will work with poll wardens on enforcement of the “150-foot rule”–a state law that prohibits campaigning for or against a candidate or ballot question within 150 feet of the entrance of a poll.
    • According to the Office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State, prohibited activities within 150 feet of a polling location entrance include:
  • Holding certain political signs
  • Wearing certain political apparel (t-shirts, hats, buttons, pins, stickers, etc.)
  • Handing out campaign literature
  • Distributing stickers for write-in campaigns
  • Shaking hands or otherwise greeting voters (while being a candidate on the ballot)
  • Asking voters to vote in a certain manner
  • Hindering or interfering with voters who are voting or on their way to vote
  • Soliciting signatures on any type of petition
  • Materials are considered to influence voters if they contain:
      • A candidate’s name
      • The name of a candidate’s policy proposal
      • A candidate’s slogan or image
      • A political party name

Voters are encouraged to contact the Elections Office at 508-979-1420 with any questions.

The Board of Election Commissioners also offers the following reminders:

Poll Hours on Election Day

Polls will be open across the City on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Early Voting Continues Through November 1

Registered New Bedford voters can cast ballots in-person daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 1 at the Main Public Library, 613 Pleasant St.

Check Your Voter Status Online

Citizens who are 18 and over can check their voter status online on the Secretary of State’s website, https://www.sec.state.ma.us/OVR/.

Public Invited to Observe High-Speed Tabulator

The public is able to observe how the high-speed tabulator machine processes mail-in, early and absentee ballots. The public can observe the DS450 tabulator and the process on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 9 a.m. at the Elections Office in City Hall.