State Auditor Susan Bump has determined that early voting in last year’s presidential election constituted a state mandate on cities and towns, and the state should pay for it. Bump made the determination after Wakefield and Oxford asked for it. The state Unfunded Mandate Law allows cities and towns to petition the auditor for a determination if they believe they are incurring additional costs as a result of state mandates. Bump said about one million voters, or 22 percent of the total, cast ballots during the 12 days leading up to the November election, and staying open those extra days cost cities and towns about $1.1 million. “The early voting law certainly is to be regarded a success. It did, however, mandate new procedures for clerks. Some of these should be paid for by the state, not municipalities, according to the Local Mandate Law,” she said. Most of the cost came from paying for additional hours for poll workers.
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who oversees elections, said his office did give out some grants to encourage weekend voting hours, but not for all costs.
He said in his view, communities have an obligation to provide for voting, and early voting is a part of that.
Still, he said, the ruling should result in a more orderly way of paying for early voting, which he said was successful, by all accounts.
Full Article: Mass. auditor says state should pay cities and towns for early voting costs | Local News | thesunchronicle.com.