Latest news with #WilliamGalvin
Boston Globe
20-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Census shows recent growth in most Mass. cities and towns
Some smaller communities expanded at higher rates. Stoneham added 1,452 people over the one-year period, a nearly 6.3 percent growth rate that led all 351 cities and towns. Among larger municipalities with at least 50,000 residents, the most significant population change was in Revere, which grew 2.94 percent. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sixty-one communities lost population year over year. The biggest loss, both in terms of raw total and percent change, was Concord, whose population shrunk 181 people or roughly 1 percent. Advertisement Secretary of State William Galvin's office said most of the towns with population decreases were concentrated in western Massachusetts or Barnstable County. It appears Massachusetts is part of a larger regional trend. 'In 2024, the Northeast experienced population growth after years of steady decline, with rates ranging from an average growth of 0.1 percent in cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 people (a shift from the 0.3 percent average decline in 2023) to 1.0 percent average growth in cities with populations of 50,000 or more — five times higher than their growth rate during 2023,' the Census Bureau wrote in a news release last week. Advertisement Nationally, the largest average population growth was in the South, the Census Bureau said, while the western part of the country also saw increases and the Midwest experienced 'modest population growth.' The new municipal data build on statewide totals Thousands of people continue to leave Massachusetts for other states, but newly incoming immigrants have more than made up for it in recent years, the data show. From July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024, the Census Bureau reported that about 27,500 people decamped Massachusetts for another state -- down from 36,500 the prior year and 54,800 the year before that. In each of those years, international migration to the Bay State surpassed 72,000, climbing to 90,200 from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024. The UMass Donahue Institute previously called the 2023-to-2024 trend the Bay State's Beacon Hill has been closely watching migration patterns, especially as business groups and others warn of people leaving Massachusetts due to the state's high cost of living. Galvin's office echoed the Donahue Institute analysis last week, attributing the year-over-year growth to slowing domestic outmigration to other states as well as 'record levels of international migration.' Advertisement 'Accurate population counts are crucial for state and local governments, because they dictate federal funding for things like schools, transportation, and health care,' Galvin, a Democrat who is the state's 2030 US Census Liaison, said. 'If people are living in Massachusetts, using those resources, and contributing to our local economy, we must push back against any efforts to exclude them from the count.' From July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2024, the Census Bureau's Vintage series counts an increase in the Bay State's population of about 141,000 people or 2 percent.
CBS News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
American Revolution artifacts on display at Commonwealth Museum in Dorchester
Boston is a city steeped in history, but few places hold as many pieces of the past as the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum in Dorchester. And now the museum is showcasing its Revolution 250 exhibition to commemorate the anniversary of the American Revolution. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin emphasized the importance of the exhibit in preserving democracy. "The commitment to personal liberties, and to freedom, and democracy, and to an orderly government that holds people accountable," said Secretary Galvin. "That's still an issue today." Galvin said that the exhibit does more than simply recount the battles and bloodshed of the Revolution, it dives deep into the core ideals that the United States was built upon. "It's a call to continue the effort to promote democracy. It was the principles and that's why the lead up to the Revolution is so important, it's not just the battles and what happened and how it happened," Galvin said. "It's really why?" Sam Edwards, an archivist at the museum, invites visitors to come inside and explore the treasures of history. "You learn something every day," Edwards said. "Someone comes to you with a research question, and you get to just dive in and answer it in the most historically accurate way possible." For history enthusiasts and curious minds alike, the exhibit offers an opportunity to get up close to rare, iconic artifacts. You'll find documents signed by the likes of John Hancock and John Adams, letters written by George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and even the sword of Major John Buttrick, who ordered the first shots fired at the battle of Concord. Normally stored in a climate-controlled vault, these artifacts are now on display for the public through June 17.
Washington Post
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Boston ordered to change its elections practices following ballot problems in November
BOSTON — The Massachusetts secretary of state's office has ordered an overhaul of Boston's elections practices after some city precincts didn't initially have enough printed ballots on Election Day in November. Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday that an investigation determined that even though the city had a sufficient number of ballots, it failed to provide enough to several precincts ahead of time. State election laws require that a ballot be available for every voter.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boston ordered to change its elections practices following ballot problems in November
BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts secretary of state's office has ordered an overhaul of Boston's elections practices after some city precincts didn't initially have enough printed ballots on Election Day in November. Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday that an investigation determined that even though the city had a sufficient number of ballots, it failed to provide enough to several precincts ahead of time. State election laws require that a ballot be available for every voter. 'This resulted in voters in the City experiencing needless and unacceptable delays in voting and, in some cases, disfranchisement because the voter was unable to wait,' said the report's author, Rebecca Murray, who is the general counsel to the secretary of the commonwealth. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The city had planned to deliver ballots equal to about 80% of registered voters to every precinct, but a calculation error led to far fewer ballots being delivered, according to the investigation report. Poor communication between the city and polling stations exacerbated the problem, Murray found. 'A major problem that was evident was the inability of the Boston Election Department to directly communicate, in real time, with each voting precinct in order to determine and prioritize those locations that had run out of ballots or had an immediate need for additional ballots,' she concluded. A city spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Galvin ordered the city to change its practices to comply with state election laws and he appointed a person to help with the improvements who will reman in place through the end of 2026. He also ordered it to come up with a plan to 'ensure that the City and poll workers can communicate with each other in real time during the election.' Furthermore, the city must designate a team that contacts polling stations on election days to discuss issues such as voting machine problems and ballot shortages. It also needs to improve training for poll workers on what to do about issues such as ballot shortages, the report found.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Boston ordered to change its elections practices following ballot problems in November
The Massachusetts secretary of state's office has ordered an overhaul of Boston's elections practices after some city precincts didn't initially have enough printed ballots on Election Day in November. Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday that an investigation determined that even though the city had a sufficient number of ballots, it failed to provide enough to several precincts ahead of time. State election laws require that a ballot be available for every voter. 'This resulted in voters in the City experiencing needless and unacceptable delays in voting and, in some cases, disfranchisement because the voter was unable to wait,' said the report's author, Rebecca Murray, who is the general counsel to the secretary of the commonwealth. The city had planned to deliver ballots equal to about 80% of registered voters to every precinct, but a calculation error led to far fewer ballots being delivered, according to the investigation report. Poor communication between the city and polling stations exacerbated the problem, Murray found. 'A major problem that was evident was the inability of the Boston Election Department to directly communicate, in real time, with each voting precinct in order to determine and prioritize those locations that had run out of ballots or had an immediate need for additional ballots,' she concluded. A city spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Galvin ordered the city to change its practices to comply with state election laws and he appointed a person to help with the improvements who will reman in place through the end of 2026. He also ordered it to come up with a plan to 'ensure that the City and poll workers can communicate with each other in real time during the election.' Furthermore, the city must designate a team that contacts polling stations on election days to discuss issues such as voting machine problems and ballot shortages. It also needs to improve training for poll workers on what to do about issues such as ballot shortages, the report found.
