PUBLIC SAFETY OR PUBLIC SNAFU?

Kenneth M. O’Brien

Recently there has been a lot of controversy on this site regarding the Southbridge Police Department.

The night of the recent Southbridge Town Election the wife of the police chief appeared on this blog and ridiculed critics of her husband in light of the election results (the second comment).

What was notable was that, as others have commented, there was no attempt to answer or deny the questions that were raised by such prior posts as “Ain’t That A Crime”, or “Liquorboarding The Lazos”.

UPDATE: The Southbridge Ballot SNAFU

Kenneth M. O’Brien

$1,543 – One Thousand, Five Hundred, Forty-Three Dollars.

That’s what it will cost taxpayers to print corrected ballots for the June 28 Town Election.

The issue was first reported in a prior post on this site (Breaking News: The Latest Snafu At The Southbridge Town Clerk's Office.) To date neither the Southbridge Evening News nor the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has reported the matter.

The estimated cost was provided by the office of Southbridge’s Finance Director.

It does not include the cost of mailing new absentee ballots.

Response to inquiries to other town officials have detailed the plan for correcting this latest black eye on the management of this town office – once the hallmark of integrity in the cesspool of Southbridge politics.

New ballots are being printed that will be distributed at polling places on June 28.

In that regard, no issue should arise (we hope).

As regards absentee ballots, new ballots will be mailed to those who have so requested. They will be of a different color and will contain a notice regarding the prior error and the need to submit a new ballot.

Absentee ballots received in the interim will be, I am told, “trashed”.

Any further developments will be available here at The O’Zone.

Breaking News: The Latest Snafu At The Southbridge Town Clerk's Office

Kenneth M. O'Brien

The next Southbridge town election is scheduled for June 28.

As a result, absentee ballots have been mailed out to those who have requested them.

Presumably, this means that official ballots for use at polling places have also been printed or are in the process of being printed (though this has yet to be confirmed).

Therefore, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the ballots that have been issued have a serious error.

In the race for Southbridge School Committee there are four candidates. They are incumbents Tanja Dominko, Thomas E. O'Leary and Patricia Woodruff along with newcomer Tammy M. Twomey.

Of these four candidates, three are supposed to be elected to fill vacancies that will exist on the Committee.

However, the ballots that have gone out, and submitted to the Office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State, contain the following instruction regarding the School Committee race:

Vote for no more than two.

That line should read, Vote for no more than three!

The possible consequences?

Having to incur the costs of reprinting all these ballots;
Having to re-mail all of the absentee ballots;
Having to deal with absentee ballots submitted prior to any corrections;
The potential for having the School Committee election judged invalid if the fourth position differs from the third by a number less than the number of erroneous ballots submitted.

We'll be waiting to see how this issue evolves and how it is dealt with.