Keeping the fear out of voting

New England town meeting is often held up as the quintessential example of democracy, conjuring up images of a Norman Rockwell painting where citizens can stand up, speak their minds, and vote the way they want — out in the open. But some Hamilton residents believe that things have gotten so contentious at times that they want certain Town Meeting votes to be taken by secret ballot. These residents say that some have been verbally pilloried with invective — even shunned by neighbors — for the way they have voted on contentious issues.

"I was actively booed at a town meeting," resident Betty Gray told the selectmen during an August meeting. Other residents, mostly seniors, shared similar sentiments with the Board of Selectmen.

In response, the citizens' group Enough Is Enough petitioned to have Warrant Article 2009/10 4-4 added to the Special Town Meeting Warrant. This article would amend the Town's General By-Laws by adding a new section to provide for secret ballot at Town Meeting whenever twenty-five percent or more Town Meeting members vote in favor of a motion for a paper ballot. The secret ballot can only be used for overrides, capital debt exclusions, or capital overlay exclusion expenditure greater than $250,000. It cannot be used for a vote on the annual budget, nor can it be used for articles that do not appropriate money.

"[O]ur intent is to provide privacy to voters who would be voting on issues that, if passed at Town Meeting, would then require voting at the polls...which provide secret balloting," wrote Enough Is Enough Moderator Jay Burnham in a blog on Salem News back in August.

Opponents argue that claims of voter intimidation are exaggerated or over-stated. Selectmen Bill Bowler vehemently decried having the option of a paper ballot at Town Meeting as "undemocratic." Town Meeting, according to Selectman Bowler, is the legislative branch of town government.

"Legislators vote in public," Bowler said.

While this is true, there is a big difference between elected legislators and Town Meeting members. Elected legislators, as well as any kind of elected or appointed official, are elected, obstensibly, to represent us, and therefore need to be publicly accountable; Town Meeting members represent only themselves, and therefore need not be held publicly accountable.

Rather than disenfranchising voters, secret balloting protects the right of every resident to vote freely without feeling coerced or intimidated. This is precisely the reason why balloting is done secretly at the polls. Why not also allow this option at Town Meeting?

Some have worried that allowing secret balloting would blow up a meeting that is already too long; however, there are ways to accommodate secret balloting without significantly lengthening the meeting. For example, the Town Moderator may entertain a motion to move on to the next warrant article while tellers are still counting the votes of the previous one. The town clerk's office can speed the process by providing residents tear-off ballots as they enter Town Meeting. These tear-off ballots could be collected and counted in minutes. Town Meeting members, via a petition filed prior to Town Meeting, can identify which warrant articles they will vote on by paper ballot up front, so that everyone can plan accordingly.

Many other towns utilize the paper ballot at Town Meeting. Some towns require automatic secret ballots on certain votes. Essex, Andover, North Andover, Middleton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Wakefield, North Reading, Easton, Mendon, Stoneham, Wrentham, and Berkley are just a few of the towns in Massachusetts that have used the secret ballot at Town Meeting for years.

I have heard anecdotes about children of neighbors verbally tussling over their parents' differences of opinion while playing in the backyard. At times, Gray and others have been loudly booed and heckled while speaking. While this kind of boorish behavior and rancor sometimes cannot be avoided in a public meeting, the fact of the matter is that it has a chilling effect on open and honest debate. "People are intimidated to vote on certain issues," according to Gray. Unfortunately, discourse in Hamilton, as in much of the country, has become decidely less civil in recent years. It's a troubling trend. I am not a senior nor am I a member of the citizens group that petitioned to have this article placed on the warrant. I am a middle-aged, comfortably well-off, married man with two school-aged children. But I find it unsettling that anyone in town would feel uncomfortable to speak his or her mind at Town Meeting.

My recommendation is that Town Meeting take favorable action on Warrant Article 2009/10 4-4.