Massachusetts
A third of Massachusetts cities, towns have had change in top election official since 2020
![A third of Massachusetts cities, towns have had change in top election official since 2020 A third of Massachusetts cities, towns have had change in top election official since 2020](https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CLERKSsc003.jpg?w=1024&h=683)
More than a third of all Massachusetts municipalities have had a change in their chief election official or town clerk since the 2020 presidential election, a transition rate that has left the secretary of state concerned as an increasingly intense 2024 election barrels closer.
The turnover means many officials will likely take on a presidential election for the first time as the top boss in charge of administering ballots, polls, and counting votes. The apparent brain drain is not isolated to Massachusetts — national statistics have shown an exodus of clerks or chief election officers.
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said 128 of the 351 cities and towns have had a change in their local clerk or chief election official — 49 of the 128 have changed since the 2022 election. Of the 128 who have departed, 109 retired or lost reelection, five died, and 14 took other jobs as an assistant or clerk in another community, Galvin said.
Galvin said the format for a state election is the same regardless if it’s a presidential or only state offices. The difference, he said, is the intensity of a presidential election, which often can draw voters who do not participate in state-only elections.
For those town clerks who did run the 2022 state election, that experience will help, Galvin said. But he said he has some concerns with the high number of new officials.
“My concern, obviously, is the effective administration of elections,” he said in an interview. “… But we’ve had a very good and collaborative relationship during my tenure and we strive to make that better. And part of that process is to give people support, not just strategic support and administrative support for our systems that are in place, but to give them support in terms of education. And we’ve been doing that.”
Brookline Town Clerk Ben Kaufman is one of the relatively new faces, having been elected in May 2021 after long-time clerk Patrick Ward retired.
Kaufman notched three elections in 2022 — a town election, a state primary, and the state general election. And in the middle of all of those contests, he had to deal with the implementation of an election reform law that made early voting and vote-by-mail permanent in Massachusetts.
Burnout and turnover among clerks is something that is happening across the country, and Massachusetts is by no means immune to the issue, he said.
Serving as a clerk or election administrator is a rewarding job but also a tiring one that requires late nights, weekends, and the ability to deal with high-stress situations, he said.
And it can be frustrating when “you pour your heart and soul into an election” only for one thing to go wrong “and that’s what gets blown out of proportion,” Kaufman said.
“We’re always hyper aware of making sure we don’t make mistakes because we know how important this work is,” Kaufman told the Herald. “But also (remember) that the people who are running your elections, who are answering the phones, who are getting you your ballots, who are sitting at the table when you walk into your polling place, they’re just people trying to do their jobs.”
Clerks and election officials across the country have departed at high rates since the 2020 presidential election.
A report from Issue One, a bipartisan political reform group, found that half of the 76 million residents living in 11 western states from California to Washington and New Mexico to Montana have a new local election chief since the 2020 election.
Election administration work is technical — there are specialized voting machines, ballot tabulation, and the need to counter cybersecurity threats. It takes time for people to learn “complex procedures, gain familiarity with equipment, and hone problem-solving skills for when challenges arise,” Issue One said in the report.
“Those with less experience are more prone to making small mistakes based on lack of knowledge — mistakes that, however innocuous, may be interpreted by hyper-partisans as malicious acts,” the report said. “To help prepare the next generation of election officials and election workers, jurisdictions across the country need to be investing significantly in training.”
As fresh faces arrive, Galvin said his office has offered “pretty extensive training sessions” this year and plans to offer more in 2024 in effort to give clerks a “very thorough grounding” in election procedures.
“In fact, we just had one last week in Springfield, which was very thorough and very extensive,” he said. “Since this process with the presidential primary starts within months, we need to make sure people are familiar with it and that’s what we’re working on.”
Even as a third of election chiefs or town clerks left their jobs, a majority stayed in their role.
Worcester City Clerk Niko Vangjeli is one of them.
He took over the top job in March 2020 — or as he puts it, “I was sworn-in as the building shut down” — after years of working for the city, including as assistant city clerk, assistant director of elections, and principal staff assistant for elections.
The 2020 pandemic-era presidential elections were his first leading the city clerk’s office, and it came as several other employees in the office retired. It was also the first time Worcester had ever processed tens of thousands of mail-in ballots as people were forced to stay home because of COVID-19.
But Vangjeli said if he was able to survive 2020, he could make it through anything, including the upcoming 2024 presidential primary in March and general election in November.
“That was the worst it could be,” Vangjeli said of 2020. “So when you’re asking about turnover, if I didn’t leave in 2020, I don’t think I would leave the clerk job now.”
Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald
A banner stands outside the entrance to a polling place for early voting at the Richard Murphy School in 2022. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
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Massachusetts
Pols & Politics: Three Massachusetts House races that offer glimmers of competition
![Pols & Politics: Three Massachusetts House races that offer glimmers of competition Pols & Politics: Three Massachusetts House races that offer glimmers of competition](https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/New_Hampshire_Election_Prank_96224.jpg?w=1024&h=682)
Massachusetts voters are closing in fast on this year’s primary and general elections and many residents have intense local races right in their backyard — from incumbent Democrats facing challengers with money to open seats drawing fierce competition.
Beacon Hill is well-known for lawmakers across the board gliding to re-election every two years. But in a state rife with non-competitive races, there are glimmers of hope this year that elections in Massachusetts can be more than just resigning oneself to voting for the only person on the ballot.
The state primaries are on Sept. 3 and the general election is on Nov. 5, the same day voters head to the polls to pick the next president of the United States.
With the days ticking down, here are a few House races across the state that caught our eye.
1st Plymouth
Rep. Matt Muratore’s decision to pursue an open state Senate seat has set off a mad dash in this South Shore district that covers portions of Plymouth, a town that has consistently sent a Republican to the State House for the last two decades.
Four Democrats and two Republicans have decided to throw their hat into the ring this election cycle.
Plymouth School Committee Chair Michelle Badger, Beacon Hill regular Art Desloges, local businessman Scott Hokanson, and Stephen Palmer, a former member of the Braintree Town Meeting, make up the left.
Dee Wallace Spencer, a business professor at Northeastern University, and Marine Corps veteran Jesse Brown round out the Republican primary ticket.
Spencer has dominated the fundraising game so far, raising more than $68,000 since the start of the year, spending upwards of $34,000 during the same period, and holding onto $34,000-plus as of July 31, according to campaign finance records.
Brown has raised $29,315 between the start of January and the end of July, state data shows.
Desloges has raised $24,224 since January and Badger has brought in $16,557 during the same time, according to state records. Both Palmer, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022 and 2020, and Hokanson have raised $8,000 or less this year.
27th Middlesex
Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven has not faced an opponent in her past two general elections and easily beat Democratic challengers in her previous primary contests.
But this year, a former Beacon Hill chief of staff is making a well-funded play at unseating the second-term Somerville Democrat.
Kathleen Hornby, who worked for Public Health Committee Chair Rep. Marjorie Decker for almost three years, has outraised Uyterhoeven since the start of the year, according to campaign finance filings last updated July 31.
Hornby, who also worked for former Rep. Alice Wolf for nearly five years, points to affordability in Somerville, substance use, public transportation, workers’ rights, and climate change as some of her top issues, according to her website.
Uyterhoeven said she “acted swiftly” with other colleagues in the Legislature to ensure access to reproductive rights after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Uyterhoeven also touches on transportation, public education, and affordable housing on her campaign website.
And speaking of Decker, the six-term Democrat from Cambridge is also facing a Democratic primary opponent this year in Evan MacKay. Decker has raised more than $117,000 since January compared to MacKay’s $48,025, according to state data.
12th Middlesex
Nearly $200,000 has poured in since January into a race for a House seat that covers parts of Newton and Brookline after the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Ruth Balser, announced she was not seeking reelection.
That decision has since spurred three Democrats to jump into the fray — Newton City Councilors Bill Humphrey and Rick Lipof and Greg Schwartz, a former city councilor and doctor who has earned Balser’s endorsement.
Lipof has ticked off public education investments, combating antisemitism, and affordability as priorities on his website. Humphrey also turned to the climate, housing, health care, and education as issues he wants to focus on while Schwartz pointed to health care, antisemitism, climate change, housing, and transportation as his priorities.
Each candidate has pulled in tens of thousands.
Lipof is leading the pack with more than $73,000 raised and $39,787 spent since January, according to state campaign finance filings. Schwartz has pulled in $66,274 this year and spent $51,488, state data shows.
Humphrey has raised $31,462 and spent $23,624 this year, according to the data.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts couple delivers baby on Cape Cod highway
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Massachusetts
Massachusetts governor pledges to sign sweeping maternal health bill – Washington Examiner
![Massachusetts governor pledges to sign sweeping maternal health bill – Washington Examiner Massachusetts governor pledges to sign sweeping maternal health bill – Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/maura-healey.webp)
BOSTON (AP) — A sweeping maternal health bill has cleared both legislative chambers and is awaiting Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s signature.
The bill would create a pathway for midwives and lactation consultants to obtain licenses, encourage the creation of more freestanding birth centers, and establish a grant program to address maternal mental health and substance use disorder.
The legislation would also expand the statewide universal postpartum home visiting program and mandate that insurers provide coverage for postpartum depression and major depressive disorder screenings for perinatal individuals.
“This maternal health bill will save lives for all birthing families in Massachusetts,” said Democratic state Rep. Marjorie Decker, one of the supporters of the bill.
“I am so proud that we continue to lead the nation in safeguarding reproductive health and honoring birthing autonomy by allowing more birthing options, expanding equitable access to midwifery care and postpartum support, and providing better insurance coverage for perinatal individuals,” she added.
The legislation would create a state license that certified professional midwives must receive in order to practice midwifery, and require certain insurance providers, such as MassHealth, to cover doula and midwifery services including prenatal care, childbirth and postpartum care.
The bill would also create the Board of Registration in Midwifery within the Department of Public Health to license and provide oversight of licensed certified professional midwives.
Licensed certified professional midwives would be required to coordinate emergency care if needed and would also be able to issue prescriptions for certain drugs, under regulations to be promulgated by the board and DPH.
To encourage the creation of more freestanding birth centers, which operate independent from hospital systems, the bill would require DPH to draft updated regulations governing the licensure of freestanding birth centers to ensure safe and accessible birth options.
The legislation would also require state health officials to conduct a public awareness campaign about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and to develop a digital resource center available to the public. It would also require that perinatal individuals be offered a screening for postpartum depression and major depressive disorder, and that those services be covered by health insurance plans.
To better address barriers in access to care and reduce racial inequities in maternal health, the bill would also expand the universal postpartum home visiting program administered by state health officials and provide coverage for the program’s services.
A 2023 Massachusetts Department of Public Health report showed that maternal morbidity nearly doubled in the state from 2011 to 2020. Black women were 2.3 times more likely than white women to experience labor and delivery complications.
Under the bill, health insurers would also be required to provide coverage for medically necessary pasteurized donor human milk and products derived from it, serving as a critical source of nutrition for the growth and development of babies, particularly for vulnerable premature infants.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Healey indicated support for the bill when asked Friday
“Of course I’m going to sign it,” Healey said.
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