Medford Drops VFW Polling Place; Cites 'All Lives Matter' Banner

MEDFORD, MA – The Medford VFW will no longer be the polling location for Ward 8, Precinct 2 due to its "All Lives Matter" banner, the city council decided this week. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to move the polling place from the VFW to the senior center, where Ward 8, Precinct 1 votes, according to the Medford Transcript.

The NAACP recently renewed calls to remove the sign ahead of the upcoming 2018 election. In a letter to city officials dated Aug. 13, Mystic Valley NAACP President Zane Crute wrote that the organization believes the banner constitutes a political sign and is 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," Crute wrote. "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."

A person who answered the phone at the VFW on Monday declined to comment. Post Commander Steve Henson told the Transcript the VFW's board of directors voted unanimously to keep the banner.

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