POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Not signed, sealed nor delivered

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MAIL-BALLOT POST-MORTEM — Election officials rejected more than 11,000 mail ballots cast in the state primaries, the bulk of them because they arrived too late.

Of the 480,255 ballots cast by mail, 11,412 were received and rejected and another 1,039 were marked as “failed delivery,” either because a ballot was returned to local election officials by USPS or a voter said they didn’t receive it and requested a replacement. The 11,412 rejected ballots account for 2.3 percent of all votes cast by mail and just over 1 percent of the 1,052,414 ballots cast overall in the state primary, according to data from the secretary of state's office.

The majority of rejected mail ballots, 8,070, were tossed because they didn’t show up before 8 p.m. on primary day. Another 1,088 were discarded because the voter didn’t sign the envelope containing their ballot, while another 751 ballots were rejected because they were missing envelopes.

Among the other reasons ballots were rejected:

— 327 came in from people who had already voted;

— 99 were “spoiled,” meaning the voter made a mistake and requested a replacement;

— 27 were cast by people not registered to vote;

— 32 were rejected because the voter died.

Compare that to the 2020 state primary, when 814,013 ballots were mailed in, 14,843 were received and rejected and another 3,029 were marked as failed delivery. The 14,843 rejected ballots accounted for 1.7 percent of mail ballots cast and just under 1 percent of the 1,706,992 ballots cast overall. In that primary election:

— 8,419 mail ballots came in too late;

— 3,124 were missing a signature or a ballot envelope;

— 1,771 came from someone who had already voted in person;

— 176 were spoiled;

— 44 were from voters who died;

— 34 were from people no longer registered to vote.

MassVOTE’s Vanessa Snow said it’s “frustrating and disappointing” to see more than 11,000 mail ballots rejected this year. And she said the more than 8,000 ballots that arrived late show “how crucial it is” for voters to return their mail ballots “as quickly as possible" ahead of the general election.

Luckily for tardy primary voters, this next deadline is more forgiving: General-election ballots need to be postmarked by Election Day — not received by it, as they were in the primary — and can count as long as they make it to a local election office by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12.

“Obviously we’re never happy with any rejection rate,” Secretary of State Bill Galvin told Playbook. “It’s not exactly perfect, but we’re getting as close as we can under the circumstances and I think the grace period [after the general election] is a great help.”

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Mail ballots for the general election will start making their way to voters later this week, Galvin said. He expects that process will be "significantly underway" by early next week.

TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announce Skills Capital Grants at 12:30 p.m. at Westfield Technical Academy and join Rep. Richard Neal and other officials for groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Barnes Air National Guard Base at 2 p.m. Polito speaks at WuXi Biologics at 10 a.m. in Worcester. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. and hosts a press conference in East Boston at 12:30 p.m. Rep. Lori Trahan makes federal aid announcements in Fitchburg at 10:30 a.m. and Lancaster at noon.

Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Lessons learned from failed birth control law,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Drawing lessons from a Massachusetts birth control law that failed to work as planned, a reproductive rights group released a toolkit on Monday offering a series of recommendations to lawmakers in Massachusetts and around the country on how to improve compliance with such legislation. The report produced by Reproductive Equity Now said the so-called ACCESS law that was signed into law in 2017 was groundbreaking, requiring insurers to cover nearly all forms of birth control with no copays and directing that pharmacists fill 12-month prescriptions for birth control pills after an initial three-month trial. … The law ushered in little change because few insurers, pharmacists, or patients knew anything about it.”

— “Mass. politicians call for review of domestic and sexual violence secrecy law,” by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: “Massachusetts elected officials vowed to review a privacy law designed to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence after a WBUR investigation found the law has often been used to protect police and perpetrators and made it harder for victims to obtain documents they need for protective orders or custody battles. Gov. Charlie Baker said he wants the Legislature to take action to help survivors. That includes rethinking the statute that requires police to keep secret all reports and arrests related to domestic abuse and sexual assaults, something no other state does. … House and Senate leaders, including Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano, said they plan to review the law in the next legislative session that starts in January.”

— “Tax cap law should remain intact until after refunds go out, Baker says,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “Any changes to a tax cap law that is scheduled to return nearly $3 billion to residents should not come ‘mid-stream,’ Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday afternoon as he also lamented inaction on a separate $4 billion economic development. … The economic development included more than just tax breaks — written into the bill were a series of borrowing authorizations that funded programs all across the board. Baker said Monday he does not expect those to cross the finish line this year because they require roll call votes, which lawmakers cannot conduct in informal sessions.”

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FROM THE HUB

— “Wu nominates 10 in overhaul of Boston's ZBA, including Colliers exec,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu moved Monday to remake the city’s Zoning Board of Appeal after almost a year in office, nominating a 10-person slate to replace appointees of her predecessor Marty Walsh. The ZBA decides whether developers and property owners can build something that falls outside Boston’s zoning code, as many projects do. Wu campaigned on making major changes to the board, which came under a cloud late in Walsh’s mayoral tenure when a city official pled guilty to charges connected with taking bribe money in order to try to influence a ZBA member. The City Council must still approve the nominees. The ZBA consists of a seven-member board and seven alternates who can fill in at meetings. Wu is reappointing three holdovers from the Walsh era to the main board, including Jeanne Pinado, an executive vice president in Colliers’ Boston office and the former chief executive of Madison Park Development Corp.”

— “‘Unacceptable’ Boston practice of citing own inaction to close records requests goes back to spring 2021,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston’s practice of citing its own inaction to throw out public-records requests started in Spring 2021 and ran through this summer, when it halted after a Herald inquiry, the city said after an internal meeting Monday about the now-scrapped procedure that the secretary of state’s office suggested was ‘unacceptable.’ Boston’s records office actually shuttered 35 requests in which it gave its own inaction as a reason this year, the city said on Monday, up from the 22 instances it handed over to the Herald last week.”

— “In a surprise move, City Councilor Arroyo proposes new Boston voting districts,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, the ousted chair of Boston’s redistricting committee, has filed a map proposing new boundaries for the city’s nine voting districts. While it is unclear how the council will greet his proposal, sources familiar with redistricting say the map seems to generally conform to population shifts that have taken place over the last 10 years.”

— “Boston Fed President says unemployment may need to go up to slow inflation,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “The Federal Reserve’s fight to control the rising rate of inflation may result [in] a higher unemployment rate, said the bank’s Boston president in her first public appearance since taking the job earlier this year.”

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— “Baker declines to criticize DeSantis over migrant flights, saying he has no interest in ‘presidential debate’,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Governor Charlie Baker on Monday declined to directly criticize his Florida counterpart, Governor Ron DeSantis, for his decision to fly roughly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this month, saying he has no interest in joining ‘Republicans and Democrats that are running for president tee off on each other.’ ‘I’m not running for president, so why engage in what is obviously a presidential debate?’ Baker said during an appearance on GBH’s ‘Boston Public Radio.’”

— “Attorneys lay out legal options for Martha's Vineyard migrants, including a visa for crime victims,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “For the past two weeks, attorneys have huddled in the cafeteria of Joint Base Cape Cod, trying to figure out the legal options for the 50 or so migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard by order of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. They’re arguing that the people — who are mostly from Venezuela — might be entitled to a type of visa reserved for victims of a crime. … The downside of a U-visa is the long wait for approval, and the application doesn’t come with automatic work authorization. Attorneys may also pursue asylum claims for clients at the same time as the U-visa applicant, which comes with much faster work authorization.”

— “The man who recruited migrants for flights to Martha’s Vineyard says he feels betrayed,” by Maria Santana, CNN: “The migrant says he had been living on the streets of San Antonio for nearly a month when he met a woman named ‘Perla’ who made a compelling offer. She offered him clothes, food and money, he told CNN, and in exchange, he would go out and find other migrants to serve as passengers on flights to Massachusetts. She gave him $10 McDonald’s gift cards to be given to those migrants who agreed to board the flights, and she told him to say that they and their kids would be treated well upon arrival.”

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YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS

— ENDORSEMENT ALERTS: Republican Anthony Amore has been endorsed for auditor by the New England Chinese American Alliance, his campaign said. The group endorsed Michelle Wu in the Boston mayor’s race last year; Wu is backing Democratic state Sen. Diana DiZoglio in this race.

— Teamsters Local 25 has endorsed Andrea Campbell for attorney general after previously endorsing her Democratic primary rival, Shannon Liss-Riordan.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Baker says he was too 'timid' with T repairs early in his administration,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he was initially ‘more timid’ than he should have been about balancing the need to work on the MBTA with the desire to maintain full service. Baker's comments on Boston Public Radio came a week after the reopening of the Orange Line, which had been fully shut down for a month to undergo a series of fixes. Orange Line riders have continued to encounter delays as trains run slowly in areas where new track still needs to settle. Baker said some of those slow zones have already been addressed and, in the rest, trains should resume running at ‘appropriate speed’ by the end of the week.”

— “Union officials sue MBTA after arbitrator proposes slashing pensions of those who retire before the age of 65,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “The MBTA’s largest union is challenging an independent arbitrator’s decision that would reshape the rules of the MBTA’s $1.66 billion retirement system, including slashing the pensions of those who retire before the age of 65.”

BALLOT BATTLES

— “New gas tax petition asks signers to pay,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “After months of extraordinary gas prices and following the Legislature’s refusal to take up any plan to provide relief at the pump, a new petition drive to suspend the state’s gas tax when the price is too high has organized. … [Harold Hubschman, the founder of the Sign2SuspendTheGasTax.org committee] hopes to gather the tens of thousands of signatures required to ask voters on the 2024 ballot whether they would like to see the state’s 24 cent gas tax suspended anytime the price hits $3 per gallon and above. But the petition drive, cleared on Sept. 7 to begin gathering names, uses a novel approach, and asks signers to pay. Instead of using paid signature gatherers, the campaign asks supporters to donate $2.95 to cover the cost of petition materials and postage.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Two men arraigned in connection with fight outside Somerville political event,” by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: “Two men were arraigned Monday on assault charges stemming from a fight outside a political event at the Somerville Theatre where US Representative Ayanna Pressley was headlining along with the contingent of liberal Democratic women lawmakers known as the Squad. Pressley’s Republican challenger, Donnie Palmer, who was protesting the event on Saturday, was one of two victims, according to court records. The other was fellow protester Shawn Nelson.”

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DATELINE D.C.

— “Price tag of Biden’s student debt relief is about $400B, CBO says,” by Michael Stratford, POLITICO: “President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel large amounts of outstanding student debt for tens of millions of Americans will cost the federal government roughly $400 billion, according to a new analysis released Monday by the Congressional Budget Office . … ‘We don’t agree with all of CBO’s assumptions that underlie this analysis, but it is clear the pandemic payment pause and student debt cancellation are policies that demonstrate how government can and should invest in working people, not the wealthy and billionaire corporations,’ Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a joint statement.”

FROM THE 413

— “Former Soldiers’ Homes employees suing for millions in damages over alleged wrongful firings,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “Two former employees of the state’s taxpayer-financed Soldiers’ Homes have sued the facilities and the state for approximately $5 million after they were fired last year. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court joins a chorus of litigation against the state over alleged missteps at the homes during the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 and 2021. It is the second whistleblower lawsuit to have been filed within two months. Eric Sheehan, former assistant secretary of the homes for the Department of Veterans’ Services, was handpicked in 2020 to assess operations and care at the homes as the pandemic ramped up that spring and residents began dying at alarming rates. … Sheehan joins Beth Scheffler, former acting nursing director in Chelsea, in a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed last month.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of employees working from home,” by Dana Gerber, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts has one of the highest rates in the country of people working mostly from home, clocking in at nearly a quarter of all workers, according to new estimates from the Census Bureau. The data, released earlier this month as part of the American Community Survey, shows that 23.7 percent of employees in the state worked from home in 2021, placing it in the top five states for remote-work rates. There was more than a four-fold increase from 2019, when just 5.4 percent of people in Massachusetts were estimated to work from home, according to the survey.”

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HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

TRANSITIONS — Peter Brennan has been named executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jack Eccles, Robert Cohen, former secretary of veterans affairs Francisco Urena, Nick VanSant, Misha Hyman and Abby Curran. Happy belated to Patrick Sullivan, executive director of Seaport TMA, who celebrated Saturday.

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