A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 21-95, regarding sending out voter notification cards for both primary and general special elections

1 CITY OF CAMBRIDGE BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS 51 Inman Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 ▪ Telephone [phone removed] ▪ TTY: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] ▪ Email: Elections2@cambridgema.gov ▪ Website: www.cambridgema.gov/election COMMISSIONERS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ethridge A. King, Jr. Tanya L. Ford-Crump Larry W. Ward Charles J. Marquardt ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Victoria A. Harris Lesley Waxman To: Louie DePasquale, City Manager From: Tanya L. Ford-Crump, Executive Director Date: December 14, 2021 Re: City Council Order 2021 #269 – Voter Notification Cards The City Council has requested that the City Manager "work with the Election Commission to send voter notification cards for both primary and general special elections…That the City Manager respond by the December 20th regular City Council meeting”. The Election Commission will work with the City Manager’s office to send voter notifications cards for special primaries and special elections when feasible. However, there are many factors that will determine when it is feasible to do so, as set forth below. The Election Commission currently mails voter notification cards to voters prior to special primaries and special elections only when there has been a relocation of polling place for that specific election. There is no requirement in state law or local regulations which requires municipalities to mail notices prior to an election. Most municipalities in Massachusetts only send notification to voters if there is a polling place relocation and otherwise do not send notification prior to any election. Although there are some municipalities that have bylaws which may require that residents receive notification for things such as the town meeting which includes the date of the municipality’s upcoming municipal election, those municipalities do not provide notification prior to every election including special primaries and special elections. The City of Cambridge is one of very few municipalities which sends election notifications to voters prior to each regularly scheduled federal, state, and local election and prior to any special primary or special election in which a polling place has been relocated. In determining the feasibility of mailing voter notification cards prior to special primaries and special elections, the Election Commission will consider and address the following: 1. Timeframe between notification by the state that there will be a special primary and special election and the date of the election. Regularly held elections are not a problem because we know when they will occur from year to year. Special elections can be held a few weeks after receiving notification from the state. The Election Commission may not be able to “disseminate timely

2 information” in this case. It has been the practice of this office to request a voter extract through the state system the day after the last day to register and then provide the vendor with the extract. Waiting until after the last day to register allows us to provide the vendor with the most up to date voter information (new voters, change of addresses, change of party). The voter registration deadline for an election is 20 days prior to an election. However, prior to special elections the amount of time before the deadline may not give us much time to find a vendor, plan the voter notification mailing, schedule dates of delivery, request a supplemental budget for the special elections, submit a purchase order for postage for the bulk mail account, etc. Particularly in addition to preparing for the special primary and special election and providing daily services to residents/voters. 2. Unexpected delays which may affect the processing of the voter notification cards. There could be delays in procurement of the service or delays which the vendor or this office may encounter. Prior to the 2021 Municipal Election, this office was required to mail vote by mail early voting applications to every voter, process voter notification cards, voter guides, in person early voting information and mail ballot question information to every household with a voter, etc., all while going through the process of the 2020 Re-precincting and the day-to-day office operations. During this time, we were told by the Secretary of State’s office that there was a shortage of paper in Massachusetts and some municipalities had difficulty finding vendors with enough paper to process their early voting mailings and other documents for their upcoming election. Thankfully, the City of Cambridge Election Commission’s vendor was able to get a supply of paper from another vendor they work with, so we did not encounter that issue. 3. The procurement process of a government entity can take several weeks. Several departments may need to be involved depending upon the specifics of the procurement. The City would need time to go through the procurement process, sign an agreement, communicate with the vendor, process the voter extract, check proofs, proof and forward ward and precinct maps and polling place information received from the city’s GIS Department, etc. This office does not include voter registration deadline information on voter notification cards. The only information provided pertains to Election Day and the name and address of the voter. These cards are mailed out 1-2 weeks prior to a primary and election so that voters are less likely to misplace the card. If we included voter registration deadlines, they would need to be mailed 5-6 weeks prior to an election and the likelihood of the cards being misplaced by the voter becomes greater. In addition, 5-6 weeks prior to an election we would likely just be finalizing the procurement process for the printing and mailing service. 4. Current voter address. Every election the post office returns thousands of mailed voter notification cards because people move and do not update their address with our office. For the Municipal Election we received 14,981 of the 70,987 notification cards returned as undeliverable, and the cost associated with those 14,981 cards was $18,264. During the Annual City Census each

3 year thousands of census document are returned to the office. We cannot automatically remove a voter from the voter rolls. 5. Availability of a vendor. Given the timeframe of special primaries and special elections the Election Commission may have difficulty locating a vendor for the voter notification card job. In light of the factors stated above it is not always possible to send voter notifications cards for special primaries and special elections. However, the Election Commission will work with the City Manager’s office and all relevant departments required to make sure voter notification cards are mailed to voters for special primaries and special general elections when feasible.