A decade after spending $670,000 raised from a debt exclusion override to make its historic Old Town House accessible to all voters, Marblehead is preparing to temporarily move polling operations elsewhere after discovering the building’s elevator overheats and traps people during heavy use on election days.
“If the elevator gets frequent use, which it does during election day, it overheats and people get trapped in the elevator,” Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer told the Select Board during a recent meeting.
The Select Board will vote in the coming weeks to consolidate all town precincts — the Old Town House, the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center and Abbot Hall — to vote at the Marblehead High School Field House for the June 10 election.
The town has a storied history with the iconic building, a place where civic duties from casting ballots to convening Town Meeting have taken place for generations. It is one of the oldest continuously used locations for voting in the United States. In 2010, the state forced Marblehead to stop using the Old Town House for voting after finding it violated the Voting Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the Old Town House Accessibility Project’s $670,000 debt exclusion override in a special town election held on June 21, 2012. The ballot question passed with 2,394 votes in favor and 1,067 opposed, a nearly 70% majority.
“It came up for a vote three times before it passed,” said Marblehead Historical Commission chair Pam Peterson. “I think it’s a shame to break tradition, but I understand for efficiency it might be necessary to move it.”
She added, “People may not care about voting there anymore, but voting in the Old Town House was the main reason why they campaigned for the money.”
Fire Chief Jason Gilliland elaborated on the safety concerns.
“It overheats, and when it overheats, people get stuck,” Gilliland said, adding that a woman briefly became trapped in November. “It could have put the election in turmoil, because if we can’t open the building, we had to close it, and then what do you do?”
Federal law requires polling places to be accessible to all voters, including those with disabilities. Without a reliably functioning elevator, the Old Town House cannot legally serve as a polling location.
Before the Select Board votes, officials must first secure state certification for the high school field house as a polling location.
“The town already used the field house once for voting, and it has to be done again,” Gilliland said, referring to the state certification that the field house received during COVID-19 that needs renewal for the upcoming election. The documentation includes verification of accessibility features. Gilliland noted that Building Commissioner Steve Cummings would “measure everything” to confirm compliance before Town Clerk Robin Michaud submits the paperwork to state officials for approval.
The planned June consolidation also stems from maintenance issues with the elevator at Abbot Hall, which requires mandatory safety upgrades on a deadline that falls during the election period.
Select Board Chair Erin Noonan suggested the temporary move could become permanent.
“It is much more commonplace now where communities have their field house be the central polling place,” Noonan said. “I’ve personally heard feedback from voters that having multiple polling places and the parking situation [is difficult].”
While the move addresses immediate practical concerns, a permanent move could mark a potential end to one of America’s longest continuously used polling places.
