Medford To Seek Public Input On New 8-2 Polling Place

MEDFORD, MA – The Medford City Council will hold a public meeting to address the new polling location of the Ward 8, Precinct 2 after it was pulled from the VFW building. A committee of the whole meeting will take place Oct. 2 at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, according to the Medford Transcript.

The council voted unanimously in August to move the polling place from amid controversy over the VFW's "All Lives Matter" banner. The NAACP renewed calls to remove the sign ahead of the upcoming 2018 election, arguing that it constituted a political sign and was inappropriate for a polling place.

"The All Lives Matter slogan has been used as a way to attempt to silence and refute the Black Lives Matter movement," Mystic Valley NAACP President Zane Crute wrote in a letter to city officials. "Moreover, All Lives Matter turns a blind eye to the epidemic of police brutality and lack of legal accountability for the police officers across the United States who have repeatedly used lethal force in non-life-threatening situations against communities of color."

The letter asked that the banner be "covered or taken down" on Election Day or the polling location be moved.
In 2016, the NAACP sought the removal of the banner ahead of the presidential election. The VFW refused, with the post's quartermaster Earl Ercoline telling the Medford Transcript, "[the banner]'s not trying to hurt somebody. It's not putting anybody down."

The new polling location was originally going to be the senior center, but officials will now discuss a more suitable place for 8-2 residents.

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