Mounting complaints of voter fraud in Lawrence have prompted Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin to intervene ahead of the November election.

City officials say they've also been raising concerns about questionable absentee ballot applications, and Mayor Brian De Peña supports the state's move to oversee the elections process.

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"It's time for the state to take action on the issue," De Peña said, adding that "transparency is the most important."

In a letter sent Thursday to the city's Elections Department, Galvin cited "a significant number of absentee ballot applications that are incomplete and appear to be submitted by people associated with certain campaigns." He determined that "urgent circumstances exi

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