Newton City election staff turnover leads commission to stick with standard early-voting hours

Jill Sea, the new deputy city clerk and interim city clerk, told the Newton City Election Commission she started last week and has jumped into preparing staff training and the voting calendar ahead of the fall election. "I started last week. I'm definitely on the fast track to catch up," Sea said, adding she and the clerk's office are updating materials based on state and federal changes.

Commissioners reviewed final guidance circulated by the state to cities and towns, which recommends early-voting end times of 5:00 p.m. instead of previously used 8:00 p.m. options. Sea said the city can schedule later hours only if the city council approves them. "We can go beyond that and we need to vote. The city council would need to approve that," she said.

Members flagged recent turnover and the temporary absence of a senior clerk as a reason to avoid expanding services this year. One commissioner urged caution given limited senior-level continuity: "...there's been a lot of turnover with the election staff," they said. Commissioners asked staff to pull historical data on how many voters used evening hours in past primaries to guide future decisions.

The commission recommended sticking to the regular schedule for this election cycle while new staff are onboarded and trained. Staff noted they will continue to monitor state and federal developments — including a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision and legislation that could prompt emergency changes — and will bring any necessary items to the city council for action.

Next steps: staff will collect turnout data for evening hours and, if the commission later decides to seek extended hours, the change would be referred to the city council for approval.