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Wayland, Concord and others push to allow remote participation at open town meetings
Summary
Supporters from towns including Wayland and Concord urged the committee to let communities pilot remote access and remote participation at open town meetings, arguing the change would expand participation for parents, people with disabilities and working voters; opponents said remote access risks lowering deliberation quality.
Representatives, town moderators and civic groups told the joint committee Thursday they back legislation to allow open town meetings to permit remote audiovisual participation and voting for registered voters.
Wayland officials presented a technical plan used in town demonstrations that combines browser-based login, web audio/video, a clerk-run check‑in and a public audit table that lets remote voters confirm their submitted vote. "We're only asking for permission," David Bernstein, chair of Wayland's Electronic Voting…
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