Plymouth voters who prefer to cast their ballots in person will likely have to do more driving, starting with the May 17 town election.
The Select Board Tuesday voted unanimously to reduce the number of polling sites from 14 to just 5, following Town Clerk Kelly McElreath’s earlier recommendation to consolidate voting locations.
The remaining polling places are Plymouth Community Intermediate School, West Elementary School, Indian Brook Elementary School, South Elementary School, and Plymouth South Middle School.
Precincts 1-4, 10, and 18 will vote at PCIS. Precincts 5, 11, and 13 will vote at West Elementary. Precincts 6, 7, and 14 will vote at Indian Brook Elementary. Precincts 8, 9, and 17 will vote at South Elementary. And precincts 12, 15, and 16 will vote at Plymouth South Middle School.
“It’s easier to administer elections when we’re in fewer locations,” McElreath told the board in a Feb. 4 presentation.
The town clerk’s office estimates that 47 percent of Plymouth voters will have new polling locations.
A main driver of the consolidation is voters’ increasing preference for early and mail-in voting.
McElreath said that of the 40,835 votes cast in the November general election, 15,807 were by mail, 7,626 were through early in-person voting at Town Hall, and 17,402 were on election day in person. That added up to 57 percent of all ballots being turned in early through in-person voting, or by mail.
That breakdown roughly applied to all elections held in Plymouth last year. McElreath said 53.2 percent of people voted early in person or by mail in the nip ban special election in January, the March presidential primary, the May town election, the September state primary, and the November election.
McElreath said this is a good time to reduce the number of polling places because the next three elections – the townwide vote in May of this year and next, and the September state primary in 2026 – are typically low-turnout elections that would allow her staff to figure out what works and what does not.
The move is not unusual, McElreath said. Braintree has three polling places for its 12 precincts. Franklin has one polling place for its nine precincts, while Easton and Marshfield each have one polling place for their 7 precincts.
The clerk’s office estimates that the changes would require an initial investment of $34,000, which would cover mailing postcards notifying voters that their voting location has changed and the purchase of stanchion barriers, precinct signs, and two trailers that would be used to store and transport voting booths.
McElreath said the town will eventually recover that investment by saving $6,700 per election, mainly by having to use fewer police officers on paid details.
“Change is hard, and I appreciate that this is a big change for the voters in the Town of Plymouth,” McElreath said in an interview with the Independent on Wednesday. “Voters will always have the option of voting in person or voting by mail or going on election day.”
Tuesday’s action amended the Select Board’s 3-2 vote on Feb. 4 to approve a plan that would have cut the number of polling locations even more drastically, to four: PCIS, West Elementary, Indian Brook, and Plymouth South Middle School. (South Elementary was not part of the original lineup.)
The proposal to have only four polling places was opposed by board members John Mahoney and David Golden.
“I was deeply disturbed by the lack of polling locations in the southern half of our town,” Golden said. “I think for the many folks who are way on the southern tip, that would be upsetting to them.”
Golden added that South Plymouth residents believe that the town has forgotten them. He said his phone “is blowing up right now with people in South Plymouth who think that we ought to have a (polling location) in their location.”
That initial decision by the board was also met with opposition from other parts of town. Some people believe fewer polling places will suppress voter turnout.
“The four remaining polling stations are all located in the northern half of Plymouth,” wrote Arthur Desloges, a precinct 5 Town Meeting member, in an email. “In the last state election, 42.6 percent of voters cast their vote in person at their polling location. Even a small change to the voting participation of these voters can change election outcomes.”
The Plymouth Democratic Town Committee also criticized the initial vote.
“This action will impact the upcoming town wide election in May, with the potential impact of decreasing voter turnout which is already a known challenge town-wide,” the committee said in an email. “When citizens feel that their polling location is far away or are introduced to a greater level of uncertainty about where their proper polling location is located, it will undoubtedly discourage participation.”
Those sentiments were echoed by speakers during the public comment period of Tuesday’s Select Board meeting.
Bill Arienti, a member of the Manomet Village Steering Committee, said the move will disenfranchise seniors and disabled citizens.
“It is the job of government to make it easier for people to vote,” Arienti said.
“I’m outraged by last week’s vote,” said Scott Vecchi, who lives in North Plymouth and served on the Charter Commission. “The overriding concern of most of that process was voter engagement. It was about how to make more people vote, how to increase the dismal turnout that we have in municipal elections.”
Closing any polling places, Vecchi said, “is abhorrent to our democracy.”
Joe Hutchinson, a Town Meeting member from precinct 17 in South Plymouth, said increased travel distances could affect voter turnout in South Plymouth.
“I was almost dumbfounded by the majority of the board not seeing the desert you created in the southwest,” said Matt Tavares, chair of the Committee of Precinct Chairs. “You have to leave that option (of voting in person on election day).”
Select Board member Charlie Bletzer pushed back.
“Early voting and mail-in voting is the way we’re going to increase voting,” he said.
Vice Chair Kevin Canty then proposed amending the board’s Feb. 4 vote to allow for five polling sites instead of four, adding Plymouth South Elementary and an additional day of early in-person voting at Town Hall for town elections.
The other four board members agreed, and the measure passed 5-0.
Desloges praised the Select Board for changing its mind.
“It was a good decision,” Desloges said of adding back Plymouth South Elementary. “The principle should be to make sure that no one voting block has unequal access to vote.”
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.