SHUTESBURY — With no permanent town clerk and an incomplete process of making the position appointed, rather than elected, mail-in voting for May’s town election could be suspended by town officials.
The Selectboard is considering temporarily putting off the mail-in voting option because there is uncertainty whether the Town Clerk’s Office has the capacity to process applications and get the ballots out to residents who are interested in this voting method.
State law allows the Selectboard to opt the town out of early voting by mail, though Shutesbury voters would still have the opportunity to vote absentee, so long as they can provide a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.
Town Administrator Hayley Bolton explained to the Selectboard last week that Ann Dunne, who had been appointed to the interim town clerk role in December with an anticipated start date in mid-January, was unable to begin work for the town, and that this timeline has been pushed back long enough so she is no longer a good fit.
Bolton has since reached out to Leverett Town Clerk Lisa Stratford, who served as interim town clerk after the elected town clerk, Grace Bannasch, departed the position late last summer. Stratford, though, is only able to handle a few aspects of the role, such as maintaining vital records.
Retired town clerks and others have been contacted to fill in. Bolton said it has been difficult to find anyone to help out, though there is a possibility for current staff to expand their roles.
“It’s likely going to be a patchwork effort for this particular year,” Bolton said.
Bannasch, now the Groton town clerk but still a Shutesbury resident, said at least half of the ballots cast in local elections are by mail.
“I think if we didn’t provide this service, it would disenfranchise a lot of people,” Bannasch said.
Selectboard Chair Melissa Makepeace-O’Neil said doing absentee ballots alone may be sufficient, though.
“We already have overworked town employees, and we’re heading into a season where that gets even more burdensome for their tasks,” Makepeace-O’Neil said.
Bannasch said the labor level is probably not much higher to add mail-in ballots to absentee ballots, and she is confident that the town can make it work. “I know how rough things are in the Town Clerk’s Office in Shutesbury right now,” Bannasch said.
One idea might be to have the three residents who serve on the Board of Registrars get involved in processing the applications.
Gail Fleischaker, who serves on that panel, said she worries about breaking the current system residents are accustomed to, and would be willing to be trained. Former Town Moderator Penelope Kim said she, too, is confident those who serve on the registrars could get up to speed to step in for the mail-in process.
Selectboard member Rita Farrell said Bolton should come back with a recommendation at an upcoming meeting.
Meanwhile, Bolton said that at a Special Town Meeting last year, the first phase of approval to move from an elected to an appointed town clerk passed. This spring’s town election ballot will feature a question seeking voters’ approval to appoint a town clerk, meaning someone could take the job who doesn’t live in town.
“If that passes, we’ll be on stronger footing going forward,” Bolton said.
Bolton added that this illustrates a challenge for a small town.
“The service disruption hasn’t been easy; it reflects the difficulties municipalities face with hiring, particularly in rural communities,” Bolton said.