City investigating fraud allegations in Chinatown city-council absentee voting

Is that all they found there are many people who don't actually reside in Chinatown but Vote in Chinatown including some who work for the city they have resident street parking stickers etc. They should dig deeper

FOX Undercover: Former residents casting Boston ballots
http://www.fox25boston.com/news/fox-undercover-former-residents-casting-...

Another Boston voter isn't afraid to admit he doesn't live in the city. Richard O'Mara, the well-known owner of Cedar Grove Gardens in Dorchester, is registered to vote using his business address. But he has actually lived in Brockton since 2012.

"My identity is as a Bostonian. I spend more waking hours in the city of Boston than I do elsewhere. To tell me I can't vote, to me seems a little bit ridiculous," he said.

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/04/former_representative...

In both municipal and state elections, Smith ran a scheme where he obtained absentee ballots for ineligible voters and in some cases cast ballots for voters without them knowing it.

it's Chinatown.

The city process, and that codified in state law goes something like this...

--- You can get an absentee ballot if there is a good reason why you cannot vote on election day. This includes illness, being out of town, disability, etc. In theory, if it is just "inconvenient" you are supposed to vote on election day.

--- You file for the absentee ballot in advance by several weeks. A final ballot reflecting what the actual ballot will look like is sent in the mail with 2 envelopes. The ballot has a colored stripe indicating that it is an absentee ballot. It will state the deadline for the ballot to be mailed back BEFORE election day.

--- The person votes (marks the ballot) and inserts in into a privacy envelope and signs it, and seals it. This envelope is then inserted into a larger mailer envelope which is mailed back by US Postal Mail to City Hall. In some instances a sealed ballot may be dropped off at the Election Dept at City Hall.

--- The Election Department receives the ballot, validates it against the list of absentee ballots sent out and sorts it for the Ward and Precinct (neighborhood) where the person would normally vote.

--- The mailer, and sealed and verified ballot then go into a box with blank ballots that are delivered to the ward and precinct with a uniformed police officer on election day.

--- At the precinct, the warden, the person in charge and part of the sworn staff that operates the precinct, collects the absentee ballots and reviews the name and address listing of voters for that precinct. The name, address and status as an absentee ballot is validated in both the check-in and check-out books.

--- The warden then inserts the ballots into the tally machine on behalf fo the voter. The clerk, another sworn officer, records the act in his/her minutes log with number and time this was conducted, and the privacy envelopes and mailers are returned in a sealed box at the end of the evening with processed paper ballots.

--- If a person shows up at their precinct that requested an absentee ballot, but failed to send it back, or if they present it in person (hand carry it to the precinct), their name is already flagged in the book as absentee. If that happens, the Election Department has to be contacted by phone (cell phones are provided to the precinct) and the city's records must be amended to show the absentee ballot was negated. This will allow the person to vote in person, but only after the warden or clerk has had the records amended with the Election dept. This person may also be required to display ID to confirm that they are the person that should be in possession fo the absentee ballot. The absentee ballot is then voided and returned with other documentation at the end fo the evening.

--- If a person shows up with a sealed absentee ballot, such as a relative or neighbor thinking they are performing a good deed, they will be turned away and told the absentee ballot has to be validated and stamped at City Hall at the Election dept. The staff at the precinct cannot perform this act or handle it by telephone. This is a part of the validation process.

--- Absentee ballots can come in to City Hall up to the point of when the ballots are placed in the precinct ballot box that is dispatched to the precinct on election day morning. In fact the validation process can continue on election day and absentee ballots can be carried by election dept couriers to precincts throughout the city on election day for processing. Each time absentee ballots are delivered the clerk must make note in their minutes log, and the warden has to take possession and proceed per above.

--- No one should be handling absentee ballots other than the voter, the post office, the election department at City Hall, and any sworn election dept couriers. That is then followed by the warden and clerk at the precinct.

No campaign workers for someone running for elective office, or any pro-vote organization or political party representative should be touching anything or collecting anything on behalf of anyone