Holyoke candidate accused of campaigning in building containing polling place
HOLYOKE — Holyoke's top election official said she received reports Tuesday morning of a candidate campaigning within the 150-foot buffer set around the polling location in the basement at Rosary Towers.
City Clerk Brenna Murphy Leary said several people called her about Victor Machado, saying the candidate went up into the housing complex to knock on doors, distribute campaign literature and tell residents to go downstairs to vote. The tower is one of two polling locations in the city's first ward.
City Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos, who is running unopposed in the city's sixth ward, posted a video to Facebook in which he said he gathered up 18 flyers for Machado in the building. The video shows the councilor walking outside and confronting Machado, who is holding a campaign sign, calling him a cheater.
"You know that this is a polling location," Anderson-Burgos says in the video, "and you're not supposed to put these ... inside the building because it is a polling location, my friend. A polling location. You just broke the law."
The video shows Machado flashing a peace sign in response, and a photo taken moments later shows the flyers scattered across the ground and Anderson-Burgos walking away.
Juan Anderson-Burgos, a Holyoke city councilor representing the 6th Ward, walks off after confronting candidate Victor Machado outside of Rosary Towers in Holyoke on Tuesday. Anderson-Burgos accused Machado of handing out flyers inside the building, where votes are cast. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Voters in Ward 1 are deciding whether to reelect Jenny Rivera to the Holyoke City Council or seat challenger Machado in her stead. By day's end, Rivera won with 196 votes to Machado's 177.
Anderson-Burgos and Rivera did not return requests for comment.
Asked if he went into the tower, Machado said he was working on complying with the law and rules: 150 feet. Machado said he had a great conversation with Leary about the rules, and that she had reached out to him.
Questioned whether Anderson-Burgos was wrong about his accusation of cheating, Machado said his campaign had mailed over 1,000 postcards.
"I'm complying with the law and rules," Machado said. "We're complying with city laws and rules."
He also said he did not know what was going on.
Leary said she went to the polling location early on Election Day "and addressed the situation."
She said she reminded Machado of the 150-foot buffer rule, that going into the building, except to vote for himself, is not allowed. Machado told Leary that his mother lives in the building, she said. At his request, she also advised Rivera of the rule.
Rosary Towers in Holyoke is an apartment building that also doubles as a polling station during elections. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
"We never had a situation like that before," Leary said. She later added that it was "not the greatest way to start off the morning."
The incident happened weeks after election officials in Holyoke received reports of a similar situation during September's preliminary election. Machado installed a pop-up tent close to the door of the polling location, Leary said.
Ahead of Election Day, the city's Department of Public Works measured out 150-feet from the door and put up signs delineating the buffer, Leary said.
Holyoke police said in an email Tuesday afternoon that they had no reports involving Machado and election problems in their system.
Two years ago, police escorted a woman who identified herself as Machado's wife away from Rosary Towers on Election Day. A police officer at the polling location said in a report that he discovered her sitting on a bench with slips of paper with the name of five candidates, including Machado's, that she had been distributing to voters.
What happens next depends in large part on the election's outcome and if one of the candidates decides to challenge the results, Leary said. Because it's a municipal election, the city solicitor is typically made aware to "see how they would like to proceed," she said.
This story has been updated with vote totals for Jenny Rivera and Victor Machado from Election Day.
The Rosary Towers polling station in Holyoke had 46 votes cast as of noon on Tuesday. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
more news from Western Massachusetts
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
