A Brockton Superior Court judge has declared that Hull’s election is “not valid” and recommended that a new election be held to compensate for the delays caused by detours that prevented some voters from getting to the polls on Monday.

A three-alarm fire that destroyed a home on Q Street caused road closures while crews battled the flames, preventing some voters from reaching the polls at the high school before 8 p.m. Voting was extended for two hours, and 80 people cast their votes between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The town asked the judge to issue an emergency order validating the extension of voting hours.

Late Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Brian S. Glenny denied the extension and went further, writing in a seven-page decision: “In the view of the Court, the May 15, 2023 election was not valid… In the view of the Court, a new election is the only just remedy for the unfortunate circumstances of May 15, 2023.”

On Thursday morning, Town Clerk Lori West said the election results cannot be certified and new officials are unable to take office while the results are in question. She said the town is weighing its options and would not speculate on the next steps until final decisions have been made.

Read the full decision by clicking here.

Glenny cited the fact that “citizens attempting to travel to the high school to vote were informed by public safety officials that they would not be able to vote due to the emergency but were not informed at that time that there would be remedial action to ensure residents’ right to vote.” He also indicated that at least one race, the Hull Redevelopment Authority contest between Patrick Finn and Daniel Kernan, has a 15-vote margin, which is “close enough to be impacted by the blocking of the road to the polling place.”

He added that “although the town made a good faith effort to notify town residents about the extension of voting hours, there is no guarantee that those citizens who were initially prevented from voting: 1) received this information and 2) were able to avail themselves of the additional opportunity to vote. Accordingly, there exists a very real likelihood that citizens were disenfranchised during the May 15, 2023 town election.”

Watch this site for additional updates.

- Christopher Haraden