Boston appoints new election department director

Mayor Michelle Wu has appointed Kerry Jordan as the new executive director of the Boston Election Department. The leadership change follows a period of state receivership after the department faced significant issues during the 2024 election, including ballot shortages at multiple precincts and communication failures.

To prepare for upcoming primary elections, the city has implemented several reforms. These include the expanded use of electronic check-in devices, known as “poll pads,” which reportedly reduced check-in times by 90% during previous preliminary elections. The city has also hired over 1,860 poll workers, including 400 multilingual staff, and scheduled more than 100 training sessions.

Jordan, a longtime city worker and former chief of staff for the Department of Innovation, aims to build upon the infrastructure improvements made since the investigation by Secretary of State William Galvin. The city also conducted tabletop exercises involving over 20 departments to test election preparedness.