Latest news with #LarryQuintal
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Denying people's voices': Quintal files bill to change mail-in ballot rules after recount
After both the official voting results and a recount failed to secure him an election victory, former Republican State Representative candidate and current Taunton City Councilor Larry Quintal said he has filed legislation in the state senate to amend current mail-in ballot policies. The legislation, submitted July 9 by State Senator Kelly Dooner, would require mail-in ballots postmarked by the day of the election to be counted in special elections, according to a press release issued by Quintal. 'Like all by-request legislation, I filed this bill at the request of a constituent. It's important that residents and local officials in my district have the opportunity to bring their ideas forward through the legislative process,' said Dooner, in an email statement, on why she chose to file legislation from her former co-City Councilor. Why this legislation? The initial official results of the June 10 special state election race for State Representative showed Democrat Lisa Field winning by 17 votes. A recount held on June 30, 2025, in Easton and July 2, 2025, in Taunton, narrowed the gap to 15 votes, but Field still retained the majority and remained the victor. Quintal said Taunton's Elections Office disqualified 20 mail-in ballots because the ballots were not received by the office before the deadline. 'In my race, 20 Tauntonians were denied their voice.' Over in Easton, Denise Morgan, principal clerk for Easton's Town Clerk's Office, told The Gazette that five mail-in ballots were disqualified from the election for not being received in time. Marc Pacheco, director of elections for Taunton's Elections Department, confirmed the disqualified 20 mail-in ballots. He said, when it comes to special elections, per state law, all voting ballots submitted by mail must be received by the city or town clerk prior to the closing of polls, which was 8 p.m., on the day of the election held on June 10. Those 20 mail-in ballots were not received by the elections office in time to be counted. 'The law is clear and we followed the law.' Furthermore, in a June 12 press release after the special election, Pacheco said, 'The only other ballots that could possibly be counted after election day for a special state election would be provisional ballots and ballots postmarked from overseas,' said Pacheco. In a written statement Quintal said the legislation filed aims to amend Massachusetts General Law Chapter 54 section 25B to bring it in line with the counting of ballots in November state elections. 'It makes no sense that ballots for November state elections are counted up to four days afterwards while in a special election they are tossed aside. We should not be denying people's voices in a state special election by treating them differently from a normal state election,' he said. State representative district covers parts of Easton, Taunton The 3rd Bristol District consists of parts of Taunton and parts of Easton: Easton: Precincts 4A, 5, and 6 Taunton: Ward 1 Precincts A, B, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 7 and Ward 8 A secure system Pacheco said the 20 disqualified mail-in ballots, per state requirements, 'are still sealed in their outer secrecy envelope. No one but these voters themselves know who they voted for.' When reached for comment, Holly Robichaud, who handles communication for Quintal, said there is no definitive way of knowing the voting results of the disqualified ballots. 'The 20 mail-in ballots remain sealed. However, 20 is more than the margin in this race. If they had been counted, they could have changed the results,' she said via email. Pacheco also said there is no pattern or way of deducing how many certified mail-in ballots voted for either Quintal or Field due to how the voting system works. 'Vote by mail ballots and absentee ballots are separated from their outer secrecy envelopes and placed into the ballot optical scanner and vote tabulator in the same manner that election day ballots are cast. Therefore, there is no way to know who voted for which candidate,' he said. For future elections Robichaud said the legislation isn't an attempt to overturn the election results. 'We cannot go back retroactively,' she said, adding that the legislation is about ensuring that mail-in ballots for special elections are counted and have the same boundaries as with state elections. That being said, Robichaud did acknowledge that 'Larry [Quintal] is seriously considering running again' in the 2026 election for State Rep., and 'We believe that he would win in a regular election where all the ballots are counted.' Moving forward Lisa Field declined to comment on Quintal's proposed legislation or press release. She was sworn in as 3rd Bristol District's new State Representative on Wednesday, July 16. "I am very excited to get to work on behalf of the constituents of the 3rd Bristol." With additional reporting from Emma Rindlisbacher This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Larry Quintal files legislation regarding mail-in voting special elections Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Recount does not change winner in extremely close Taunton, Easton state rep race. Results
The recount of the election between Democrat Lisa Field and Republican Larry Quintal has confirmed the initial official results of the June 10, 2025, state representative race — with Field the winner. Per the initial official results, Field won the election by 17 votes. After a recount, which was held on Monday June 30, 2025, in Easton and Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Taunton, the gap between Field and Quintal narrowed to 15 votes, but Field still has the majority of the votes and is the victor in the election. After initially conceding on the election night of June 10, Quintal decided to seek a recount, and collected enough signatures for a recount of the election to occur. Here is what we know about the recount results. The 3rd Bristol District consists of parts of Taunton and parts of Easton: Easton: Precincts 4A, 5, and 6 Taunton: Ward 1 Precincts A, B, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 7 and Ward 8 According to the initial official election results, Quintal received 443 votes in Precinct 6 in Easton. After the recount, Quintal's vote total in Precinct 6 increased to 444 votes. Other than the one additional vote for Quintal in Precinct 6, the number of votes Quintal and Field received in Easton were unchanged before and after the recount. According to the official election results, Quintal received 111 votes in Ward 1, Precinct A in Taunton. After the recount, Quintal's vote total in Ward 1, Precinct A increased to 112. Other than the one additional vote for Quintal in Ward 1 Precinct A, the number of votes Quintal and Field received in Taunton were unchanged before and after the recount. With reporting by Daniel Schemer. This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton, Easton recount: Dem Lisa Field hangs on to victory. Results?
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Taunton, Easton head to polls today to pick new state representative. Voting information
Voters in parts of Taunton and Easton will head to the polls Tuesday, June 10, to pick their new state representative. Democrat Lisa Field and Republican Larry Quintal are facing off in a Special Election to fill the vacancy in the 3rd Bristol District, which includes parts of Easton and Taunton. Quintal, a Taunton city councilor, is the co-owner of Silva Funeral Home. Field, a Taunton resident, is an associate director for the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The 3rd Bristol seat has been vacant since the death of incumbent Carol Doherty, a Taunton Democrat who died of pancreatic cancer in February at the age of 82. The special election is limited to voters in the specific areas of Taunton and Easton which make up the 3rd Bristol District: Easton: Precincts 4A, 5, and 6 Taunton: Ward 1 Precincts A, B, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 7 and Ward 8 Polling locations have changed for this election. Here are the new polling locations in Taunton: In Ward 1, Precinct A will now be at the Former Temporary City Hall, 141 Oak St., and Precinct B will be at West Congregational Church, 415 Winthrop St. In Ward 2, both Precincts A and B will vote at the Senior Center, 'Center at Olney,' 30 Olney St. Ward 5's Precincts A and B will vote at the Former Coyle Cassidy High School, 2 Hamilton St. Ward 7's Precinct A will be at James L. Mulcahey School, and Precinct B at Edmund Hatch Bennett School. Ward 8's Precinct A will be at Benjamin A. Friedman Middle School, and Precinct B at Taunton Lodge of Elks. What to know about Easton override Easton override would raise taxes $800 on average. Impact on services of no vote? In-person voting for the special Easton election is Tuesday, June 10 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Oliver Ames High School Gym, 100 Lothrop St. Easton voters will also be deciding the fate of a $7.3 million override in Tuesday's election. With reporting by Emma Rindlisbacher and Rebecca Hyman This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton and Easton special election: Voters will pick new state rep
