BOSTON — Sen. Peter Durant (R- Worcester Hampden) tells a story about his wife going to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to change her name after they got married. She was registered to vote under the new name but when she went to vote in the next election, both her maiden name and her married name were registered, prompting him to reach out to Secretary Bill Galvin’s office.
What You Need To Know
- This is the second time in as many years Sen. Durant has requested this information from the secretary’s office.
- Durant is concerned when non-U.S. citizens were granted drivers licenses under a new law in Massachusetts, that perhaps the RMV registered them all to vote.
- Secretary Galvin oversees all state elections, a job he’s held for almost 30 years. He says he prides himself on the validity of all elections.
- Galvin says despite the suggestion, there aren’t any non-citizens registering to vote.
This is the second time in as many years Durant has requested this information from the secretary’s office. He says he didn’t get it last year and is waiting to hear back this year.
“I don't know what they have to hide. We're not looking for individual names. We're just looking for statistics,” said Durant of the request. “It's really kind of puzzling why you wouldn't want to give out those kind of statistics.”
Durant is concerned when non-U.S. citizens were granted drivers licenses under a new law in Massachusetts, that perhaps the RMV registered them all to vote.
Galvin oversees all state elections, a job he’s held for almost 30 years, and says he prides himself on the validity of all elections.
“The idea that, people who are non-U.S. citizens are using this method to register to vote simply isn't true. You know, his press releases seem to be looking for validation for his conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, we can accommodate that,” said Galvin. “If he really wants to find out the answer, he should go to a local clerk's office in his district.”
Durant tells Spectrum News 1 that 15 people have gotten driver's licenses and used a state shelter address as their home. It’s what has him planning to pull statistics from the state’s major shelters to see if it’s a trend.
“Now, that doesn't mean that, you know, a single mother who found themselves on hard times didn't go to the shelters. We're not saying that at all,” said Durant. “I think it's a little odd to believe that if you're homeless and you go to the shelter, that you're concerned about registering to vote. I'm certainly saying they could. But these are questions we want to know”
Galvin says despite the suggestion, there aren’t any non-citizens registering to vote.