In response to Mr. Bob Connolly’s letter to The Item editor on Sept. 25 regarding the integrity of the Lynn Election Office, I would like to offer the following information:
Mr. Satterwhite’s recount petition was denied due to the facts, rules, and regulations listed in the letter sent to him. This letter was provided to both the Lynn Item and the Lynn Journal (which posted the letter in its entirety in their Sept. 23 edition).
Regardless of rumors that have been made, Mr. Satterwhite came to our office at 5 p.m. on the final day allowed to file his recount papers. He was alone and my staff and I were present. Mr. Satterwhite only had half of his papers prepared for submission and subsequently he did not submit many of them in time.
Due to notarization issues and other reasons listed in the letter sent to Mr. Satterwhite, a request for a recount was denied. This decision was made due to the law, one we take very seriously. It is unfortunate that Mr. Satterwhite’s petition was not in apparent conformity with the law and again, this was spelled out in a detailed letter to him.
In making this decision, I consulted with our City Solicitor, George Markopoulos, Assistant City Solicitor James Wellock, Secretary of State General Counsel for Elections Michelle Tassinari, and Attorney Lauren F. Goldberg, K.P. Law, P.C. (former legal counsel to the Election Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
To further clear up any rumors regarding my office, at the Sept. 14 preliminary election, we received two complaints, one from a Shoemaker Ward 1, Precinct 1 voter, who was upset about not being able to park in the school parking lot. We explained that because school was in session, the school yard was being used by the kids and parking was not allowed due to safety issues. The second complaint was from a Harrington School voter, who stated that parking was an issue and traffic was backed up at school-release time, leaving him no place to park. We recommended he come back when school was released so he could park in the lot.
I agree this is a problem. While we have not had these issues in the past few years because we were able to schedule the election when school was not in session, we are looking into resolving this issue. However, these problems did not stop citizens from casting their votes. Both locations had more voters come out than the 2017 and 2019 elections. I did not receive any complaints other than these and, after calling the Secretary of State’s office, I was informed that they did not receive any complaints from Lynn on election day.
I could not be prouder of the work of the Election office. My staff consists of workers with more than 22 combined years of experience in elections. We have strict rules and procedures in place, and they are followed every day. Our three Election Commissioners — Tom Dill, Sue Lang, and Paul Amirault — show up with me on every election day at 5:30 a.m. to help the Lynn Police load up the equipment and ballots for delivery to the polls. They spend the entire day visiting the polling locations, delivering mail and supplies to wardens and clerks and they check each location for any problems throughout the day. They did not encounter any problems other than the parking issues at a couple of schools on Sept. 14.
The Lynn Police, who deliver the ballots, assist wardens and clerks, provide security, and monitor the 150-foot politicking rule, also did not report any incidents on Sept. 14. Our 165 poll workers (our true heroes in our 2020 election), put their health at risk to work a pandemic election and they continue to put themselves at risk in this 2021 election year. They did not report any irregular activity or problems at the polls on Sept. 14. They did NOT turn anyone away from voting without a valid reason. Poll workers are instructed to call our office for verification of any voter not listed so we can resolve any issues and allow them to vote.
My staff spent a week after the election counting every ballot, checking every book, and entering all information into the election report to finalize and certify the election. We have checks and balances in place and these clerks pay attention to every detail and conform with all election laws.
In the past four years, we have improved the City website election page with drop-down menu questions and answers, election results, access to the State Election website, and “track-my-ballot” options. We created a Facebook page with daily posts on election updates and important information. Our office telephone and email contact information are listed on both the website and Facebook page. My email is accessible seven days a week for any emergency situations.
We take great pride in the work we do and the measures we take to make sure the integrity of every election is met with the highest standard. Prior to the pandemic we started a voter registration drive at each of the five high schools in Lynn. This was very successful, resulting in more than 100 students registering to vote. We plan on continuing this initiative as soon as we are allowed back in the schools. This summer, the Election office hosted five-voter registration events. We hosted the “Register to Vote Week” here at City Hall, as well as voter registration tables at the “Manning Field Summerfest,” the “Latino Festival” on the Lynn Commons, the “Diversity Festival” at Red Rock Park and the “Welcome Back to School” event at LVTI. We are fully engaged and committed to voter registration and to improving voter turnout in Lynn.
During the pandemic, I joined forces with Mayor McGee, and we instituted the first “Visual Campaign for the 2020 Federal Census.” This involved seven billboards, two street banners and more than 400 lawn signs spread throughout the city of Lynn to promote the Census. Our ideas were showcased in the New York Census Office as a model for communication during the pandemic. I was able to connect with more than 180 representatives, from our City department heads and City Council members to every organization, church, club, youth group and community outreach program, all through email. We worked together to launch a campaign that brought our Census total up to more than 101,000 people. This huge increase will help the city tremendously in federal funds that our city so deserves. I cite this accomplishment because I met the most amazing people who all help to run this city that we all love every day, and who, like myself, worked every day during the pandemic. This wonderful collaboration helped us to get our numbers up to reflect all of the people residing in Lynn.
So, Mr. Bob Connolly, please don’t tell me that our office doesn’t have the time or ambition to have a recount or that we do not care about the people of Lynn and their vote. Our office puts Lynn first on all levels. As for this so-called “high horse” you speak of? I really don’t have the time to climb up on it.
Janet L. Rowe is the city clerk and chief of elections for the City of Lynn.
