Hull taxpayers may have to fork over roughly $20,000 when polls reopen for two hours in mid June after a raging fire prevented some residents from casting ballots during the May municipal election.
Polls will be open June 13 between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Hull High School for any residents who couldn’t access the town’s lone polling place on May 15 due to the fire, officials announced Wednesday.
A Brockton Superior Court justice last week ordered the small South Shore town to reopen the polls for two hours to ensure all residents had equal access to vote in the annual election, which officials say has had the strongest voter turnout in years.
Justice Brian S. Glenny also ruled last Friday the approximately 2,480 votes cast in May would be counted, approving the town’s second emergency motion.
“Despite the time and effort it has taken to get to this point, we are proud that we reacted quickly to protect the interests of all the voters of our good town,” Hull Town Clerk Lori West wrote in a letter to residents. “This effort is not, and was never, about a particular candidate, or about winning or losing an election. Instead, it was about ensuring the rights of all of the Town’s voters to participate in our democratic process.”
Glenny rejected the town’s initial emergency motion, saying officials didn’t receive permission to extend voting hours from 8 to 10 p.m., which he argued invalidated the 80 ballots cast during the additional hours.
The justice also said despite the “good faith effort” by town officials to alert residents of the opportunity, “there exists a real likelihood that citizens were disenfranchised.”
Residents learned about the extended hours through a robocall, a notice posted on the police department and town websites, and an announcement on the local cable television channel.
The six-alarm fire broke out just after 5:30 p.m. at a home on Q Street, a little over 2 ½ miles away from Hull High School, the town’s lone polling place. The only way to get to the school is via Nantasket Avenue, a main road that runs the length of the peninsula.
Emergency responders closed Nantasket Avenue to traffic at P Street, blocking access to the portion of the road that leads to the high school. The road reopened around 7 p.m.
“In closing, we are pleased that Judge Glenny has affirmed our decision on election night to enfranchise voters,” West wrote in her letter. “Although challenged by circumstances beyond our control, we feel confident that the Town’s efforts to protect the rights of all Town voters to participate in the election were successful.”