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Voting options available if federal mail-in ballot changes advance

Town Clerk Connor Degan (left) looks on as intern and Hopkinton High School junior Mahathi Manikandan feeds sample ballots into a ballot box during election machine testing at Town Hall on Aug. 27. FILE PHOTO/NICK SCHOFIELD

The effects of a new federal rule limiting mail voting have not yet been felt by the town and might not impact Hopkinton by the time the November elections roll around, according to Town Clerk Connor Degan.

“My best guess is most of this would probably be put on hold through injunction anyway,” said Degan.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that calls for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking. Following a lawsuit led by Democrats and the District of Columbia, the United States Postal Service was blocked from enforcing key requirements of the order for the midterm elections.

The Trump administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Thursday to lift the temporary restraining order.

Degan recognized that some voters may not feel full confidence in the voting system, but he warned about spreading misinformation about the security of absentee/mail-in ballot voting.

A report from the Brookings Institute analyzing four of the five most recent general elections (2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022) showed an average total mail voting fraud percentage of 0.000043% — about four per every 10 million mail votes.

“We can discuss the merits of the program and ways to make [it] better,” Degan said. However, he shared his perspective that attempts to discredit mail-in voting are harmful.

“There’s a real risk of disenfranchising voters,” he said. “We need to work to try to build support and faith and confidence in the system.”

As far as the security of Hopkinton’s votes, Degan shared that his office works closely with the post office to collect mail-in ballots, and the drop-off location in front of Town Hall is monitored regularly both by police and security cameras.

“We take everyone’s vote seriously,” he said.

Mail-in voting is a popular choice for Hopkinton voters. Degan reported that about half of the ballots received in this week’s state primary came in before election day. More than half of voters who participated in the 2024 national election also voted prior to the polls opening.

Should the Supreme Court issue a stay on the restraining order, Degan said there will be other ways for residents to get in their votes early later this fall. The Town Clerk’s Office will hold two weeks of early voting.

“People will still be able to physically come into the Town Hall … and hand their ballots back to us so we can secure [them],” said Degan.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

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Photo of the Day

A member of the Hopkinton Fire Department (left) treats a pretend victim with help from a Hopkinton Police officer during an active shooter drill held this past Saturday at Hopkinton High School. The drill was one of multiple exercises the HFD and HPD conducted in partnership with the Hopkinton Public Schools.

PHOTO/HOPKINTON POLICE DEPARTMENT