Ad Hoc Polling Place Review Committee Report of Committee September 12, 2012

Membership of the Committee William Campbell, City Clerk and Chairman Marie Lingblom, Administrative Assistant to Mayor Galvin Paul Denaro, City Council President Joseph Elia, Asst. Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Murray, Handicap Commission Member Daniel McGilvray, Republican City Committee Joseph Demers, Democratic City Committee Shaheen Mozaffar, Ph.D., Unenrollled Voter

Purpose of the Committee Pursuant to an Order of the City Council, which was approved by His Honor the Mayor effective June 21, 2012, the Ad Hoc Polling Place Review Committee was established The Purpose of the Committee is to review the current polling place structure in the City of Woburn and offer recommendations to consolidate the locations.

Progress of the Committee The Committee has met six times: – June 17 th – July 24 th – August 2 nd – August 7 th – August 14 t h – September 5 th

Principles of the Committee Major factors in reaching consolidation plan: 1)Ensuring sound public safety principles 2)Maintaining election integrity and logistics 3)Realizing cost efficiency

1) Ensuring sound public safety principles The Committee voted unanimously to remove polling locations from the elementary schools – This was determined to be the primary objective by the Committee – The consensus was on how we as a society have done well to secure our schools to ensure public safety, yet we open them up to the general public during elections – In removing elementary schools from the equation, public safety is greatly enhanced

2) Maintaining election integrity and logistics The Committee agreed that lowering the number of polling locations would enhance the ability of the City Clerk and Election Board of Registrars to maintain election integrity – Currently, the City of Woburn maintains 9 polling places for 7 wards (14 precincts) – The City Clerk and Election overseers have to be at 9 polling places, making it hard for any questions or issues that have arisen to be addressed by the chief elections official in a timely manner – In lowering the amount of polling places, the integrity of the elections is guarded with greater oversight.

3) Realizing cost efficiencies The Committee agreed that a secondary focus to public safety and election oversight would be any realization of cost efficiencies and savings – Cost savings will be realized through: Less polling locations to keep open Less widespread need for operational logistics, i.e. custodians, police details, etc.

Options Discussed by the Committee Option 1: – Joyce Middle School Option 2: – Woburn High School

Option 1: Joyce Middle School PROS – One centralized location (election logistics) – Handicap Accessibility – Ample space for wards and precincts – More than enough parking – Security of the main school building is protected by a keypad lock preventing public from entering more than the field house/gym CONS – Lighting issues would need to be addressed – Minor fixes to walkways to door

Option 1: Joyce Middle School PrecinctsVoters Total 1,574 1,773 3, Total 1,721 1,268 2, Total 1,707 1,865 3, Total 1,903 1,475 3,378 PrecinctsVoters Total 1,699 1,774 3, Total 1,479 1,672 3, Total 1,855 1,844 3,698 TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTERS 23,609

Option 2: Woburn Memorial High School PROS – One centralized location (election logistics) – Handicapped accessibility – Ample space for all wards and precincts – Sufficient lighting CONS – Parking is an issue due to the school day; teachers, staff, and student parking (also local street parking restrictions) – Security issues as voters will have access to the school during school hours

Option 2: Woburn High School PrecinctsVoters Total 1,574 1,773 3, Total 1,721 1,268 2, Total 1,707 1,865 3, Total 1,903 1,475 3,378 PrecinctsVoters Total 1,699 1,774 3, Total 1,479 1,672 3, Total 1,855 1,844 3,698 TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTERS 23,609

Recommendation of the Committee Consolidate the polling places to one location Committee voted to choose Option 1, the Joyce Middle School as the one centralized location Committee determined that the Joyce Middle School’s positives outweighed those of the other option as well as having less negatives

City/State Procedures for Acceptance Any changes require approval of the City Council and the Mayor Once the City Council votes on the proposal and the Mayor signs it, the City will send a “Special Act” to the Legislature The Legislature would then review the proposed changes and vote on the proposal, then send the Special Act to the Governor for his signature to make it law Changes to the polling places will not occur during this fall’s election