Opinion: The GOP’s disturbing war on voters’ voices

In a healthy democracy, the will of the people is sacrosanct. Elections are held, votes are counted and the outcome, whether popular or painful, is respected.

In Massachusetts, and in particular, in Mattapoisett, the town meeting form of government is a system whereby citizens directly participate in enacting local laws, passing budgets, and authorizing town spending. It’s a form of direct democracy where registered voters can attend, speak, and vote on matters presented at the meeting, typically outlined in a published warrant. Mattapoisett’s form of local government is Open Town Meeting.

At an Open Town Meeting, any registered voter may attend and vote on all, or only some, of the matters presented in the warrant. Attendance is by no means required. The warrant is circulated well in advance of the meeting date and it is the responsibility of the voter to educate themselves on the topics covered in each article and Robert’s Rules of Order.

On May 12, Mattapoisett held its annual Open Town Meeting and presented voters with a warrant comprised of 34 articles on which to vote. Article 34 was the Citizens’ Petition proposing to expand our current select board from three to five members. It was the last article on the warrant as is typical with Citizens’ Petitions.

Article 34 was advanced on the warrant from the last item to be voted on to the fifth. In advance of our Town Meeting, select board member Tyler Macallister appeared on a local radio talk show and discussed how he had planned to ask that article 34 be moved up on the warrant and encouraged registered voters to vote against it. Neither this sponsor nor its proponents of the article played any part in asking the moderator to advance the article on the warrant for voting purposes. With no objection being raised, article 34 was voted on as the fifth matter.

There was vigorous debate in the public forum, and after an effort to derail voting on the substance of article 34 was voted down, Town Meeting voters approved article 34 to increase our select board to five members by a simple majority, all that was legally required. The moderator always has discretion to call the vote based on a show of hands or by voice and there was no objection at the time to the vote count nor a request for an actual count under Robert’s Rules of Order.

After two subsequent Select Board meetings, the board conceded that legally they could not impede the submission of the Citizen’s Petition to our State Legislative delegation for filing of Legislation, the first step in the process of becoming law. However, not before certain members of our Select Board attempted to argue that the vote on this article was somehow invalid because attendees left after voting and didn’t stay for the remainder of the meeting; or they felt the vote was further invalidated because non-registered voters participated in the vote, for which there was no evidence.

In recent years we have seen a growing faction within the Republican Party take a very dark turn, one that undermines the very foundations of democratic rule. We are experiencing a dangerous trend not just of questioning election outcomes, but of actively working to override or suppress them.

Across the country we have seen state legislatures stripping power from elected officials simply because they are Democrats. We have read about partisan election boards refusing to certify the results of elections they don’t like. There have been documented instances of brazen gerrymandering and purging of voter rolls in an effort to dilute the voice of Democratic voters.

The GOP nationally has embraced tactics that prioritize political control over public consent. The seismic moment in this movement was President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the 2020 election which he lost. Since then the GOP across the country, including here now locally in Mattapoisett, has led efforts to subvert the will of the voters.

As an example of this disturbing trend, look no further than what chair of the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee is advocating. The Mattapoisett GOP chair is circulating a citizen’s petition which seeks to override and suppress the will of Mattapoisett voters by “repealing article 34”.  Article 34 passed at Town Meeting by the simple majority legally required.

The hypocrisy of the GOP is staggering. This party claims to be a champion of freedom and local control. Yet, when those freedoms lead to outcomes they disagree with, it abandons principle for power. This should be alarming to all voters.

Democracy is not a partisan issue. You don’t have to be a Democrat, Republican or anything in between to recognize the danger in refusing to honor the voice of the voters. When anyone, whether they be elected politicians or a local political party leader, tries to silence, suppress or sideline voters to cling to control, we are no longer talking about democratic disagreement. We are talking about authoritarian drift.

The voters of Mattapoisett have spoken. Silence in the face of erosion is complicity. Listen to their voices and accept the outcome of the vote at Town Meeting. Drop the efforts to repeal article 34.

Nicki Demakis is a Mattpoisett resident and author of Citizen’s Petition/Article 34

On May 12, Mattapoisett voters approved Article 34, which would expand the Select Board from three to five members. That open-floor decision is the purest form of local democracy. Yet at their July 17 meeting, the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee circulated a handout urging residents to reverse the will of Town Meeting. 

Every talking point on their flyer has an answer.

“Efficiency and agility / Lower cost to taxpayers”

Adding two stipends runs about $15,000 a year, less than 0.05 % of the town’s $35 million budget. That’s roughly the cost of one police-cruiser tire change, hardly a drag on efficiency.

“Stronger accountability / Stronger community ties”

Five seats give more neighborhoods a voice and voters more choices. With only three seats, one uncontested election can lock the board for six years. A larger board keeps everyone on their toes and broadens accountability.

“Maintains proven structure / No evidence of dysfunction”

Mattapoisett’s population has nearly doubled since the three-seat structure was adopted. Of the 292 Massachusetts towns with Select Boards, the majority already use five members. Five is now the norm, not an experiment.

“Active engagement / Easier candidate recruitment”

A larger board lowers the barrier to entry. Prospective candidates don’t have to wait for a rare vacancy or challenge an entrenched incumbent head-on. Fresh talent is invited in rather than crowded out.

“Avoids over-complication / Prevents fractionalism”

Five members diffuse, rather than magnify, factional power. A 2-to-1 stalemate is far harder to break than a 3-to-2 majority. Broader quorums encourage collaboration over trench warfare.

“Committees share workload”

Town committees have repeatedly asked for more Select Board liaisons because three people can’t cover every assignment. Two extra members mean lighter workloads and timelier follow-through.

“Simpler Open Meeting compliance”

A three-member board is the least flexible: any two members are a quorum and can’t confer outside a posted meeting. With five members, two can research an issue together without violating the law, making compliance easier, not harder.

“Peer-town comparison”

Among Massachusetts communities of similar size (10,000–20,000 residents), the overwhelming majority operate with five-member boards. Mattapoisett is swimming against the current, not setting an example.

The committee’s flyer frames “three” as cheaper, simpler, and more accountable. The facts show the opposite: the cost is negligible, transparency improves with more voices, and five seats better reflect 2025 Mattapoisett than a model designed for a much smaller town.

Town Meeting spoke. Let’s respect that vote and let our petition to Beacon Hill proceed without delay. Our community deserves representation as broad and forward-looking as the challenges we face.

Jeanne Hopkins is a Mattapoisett resident.