“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...” (from Romans 13:1)
When I went to vote on “Super Tuesday” I was surprised to notice that my daughter Amy’s name was still listed on the Framingham voter rolls. Amy graduated from college and nursing school last May and became an official full-time resident of Springfield, Missouri at that time. She registered her car in Missouri, and got a Missouri driver’s license. At the time, I notified the Framingham Town Clerk’s office as well as the Treasurer/Tax Collector office of Amy’s change of address- providing them with all of the necessary information.
Amy still had an auto excise tax issue to settle, and she did that at the Framingham Memorial Building live and in person when she visited us in October. Neither Amy nor I had any idea she had to write to the Town of Framingham and have her name taken off the voting list. I moved out of Canton, Mass. in 1982 and out of Walpole, Mass. in 1986. To the best of my knowledge I never notified them to take my name off the voting rolls of Canton or Walpole. Do you suppose my name IS still on the voting rolls of those Towns? “Methinks” it MAY BE!
I sent an e-mail to the office of Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey last week asking her to take Amy’s name off the voting list. I always thought that Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey was the person in charge of voting in Framingham. (Well, they sure imply that in the MetroWest Daily News!) Would you believe the person in charge of voting in Framingham is actually the FRAMINGHAM ELECTION COORDINATOR? How many people out there knew Framingham had an Election Coordinator? Raise those hands nice and high!
Well, the Election Coordinator is a woman named Michelle A. Jenkins. Here is the exact text of an e-mail that Michell A. Jenkins sent to me:
Rev. Baril,
Your daughter’s name is still on the voting rolls, because by MGL I am unable to remove her name without her actual signature. By notifying the tax collectors office that does not remove her from the voting rolls. She is not listed on your census form because you must have notified me last year that she moved, so I had to put her in a different family code. If your daughter could send me a quick letter stating that she no longer lives in Framingham, I would be happy to remove her.
Michelle A. Jenkins
Election Coordinator
150 Concord Street
Framingham, MA 01702
Phone: (508)532-5520
Fax: (508)628-1358
This is Bob Baril writing again: I do appreciate the fact that Michelle A. Jenkins contacted me. But otherwise, how were Amy or I supposed to know this? Is this (stupid) Massachusetts General Law the reason why the Town of Brookline had THOUSANDS of names on their voting rolls of people who no longer lived there? Probably. There is NO I.D. reqired at the polls. Any female could have gone in there claiming to be Amy Baril and could have voted. In my opinion, this whole system is archaic, messed up, and needs to be changed.
I’m going to contact State Rep. Pam Richardson about this.
EMMYS 1966: The Dick Van Dyke Show (season 5)
4 years ago
1 comment:
i bet there is a fraud out there pretending to be my vote!! oh well, i'll get it taken care of
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