SWAMPSCOTT — The democratic candidates for Secretary of State faced each other during a forum at Swampscott High School on Wednesday. The Swampscott Democratic Town Committee (SDTC) hosted the event, which featured Democratic Party candidate Josh Zakim and incumbent Bill Galvin.
“Although the candidates have participated in other forums, this is the first time that they were on the podium at the same time. This provided an opportunity to respond to identical questions and to comment on each other’s answer,” said committee co-Vice Chair Jim Peterson in a statement. “This enabled voters to directly compare and evaluate the positions of the candidates and to pose questions.”
The candidates discussed several issues, including a recent Supreme Court decision upholding Ohio’s practice of removing residents from the active voter rolls if they haven’t voted in two consecutive federal elections.
The Supreme Court decision upholding Ohio’s rule to remove voters who have not voted in a two-year period may have motivated people to attend. Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson, the SDTC co-vice chair, observed,
“At a time when democracy seems threatened, it was heartening to have 90 people come out to spend an evening listening to candidates for Secretary of State for our Commonwealth. Questions reflecting a desire for open and easy access to voting were of great concern,” Farber-Robertson said. “People really seemed to understand the pivotal role of the Secretary of State in expanding access to voters.”
