B E B E R E

Of course, Cambridge is a whole 'nother animal, as my girlfriend's partner found out when he tried to submit his ballot.

Following is the complaint she sent to the state elections commission:

From: XXX [mailto:XXXXXXX@HOTMAIL.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:24 AM
To: SEC-DL-Elections Inquiries
Subject: Cambridge Thorndike & Eighth Polling Station
Importance: High
Hello,

I am writing to complain about the ballot attendant at the Cambridge Thorndike & Eighth Polling Station. When my boyfriend went to place his vote today as an unenrolled voter using a Republican ballot, the ballot attendant told him instead of putting it in the tally machine, he could either “put it on your daughter’s head or throw it away.” Is this considered appropriate behavior for someone who is allegedly supposed to facilitate the democratic process in an impartial fashion? Is voting Republican now considered a criminal activity in Massachusetts?

I am extremely angry about the treatment he received when attempting to participate in the primary. What is being done to protect the right for people to vote for the Republican candidates?

Sincerely,

XXX XXXXXXX

Their response:

Subject: RE: Cambridge Thorndike & Eighth Polling Station
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 09:36:06 -0500
From: Election@sec.state.ma.us
To: XXXXXXX@hotmail.com

Dear XXX,

We called and spoke with Cambridge regarding this issue and they assured us they would take care of the situation and handle it appropriately.

Elections Division

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So much for tolerance of differences. I wonder what appropriate handling of this sort of situation might be?