The City Council urged the Board of Education to expand the hours that it would allow residents to vote in upcoming the Board of Education elections in a non-binding resolution that passed the Council 8-1 Wednesday night. “We want to get more people to participate in school board elections,” said City Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr., who sponsored the resolution, “especially considering that this is where our kids go to school and that the board has such a significant budget.” The resolution asks the board keep the polls open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. instead of from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., as they had done in recent elections. “When to have the polls open is a question that has been ongoing,” said City Clerk James Farina, who also serves as a member of the school board. “Whenever we have changed the time that the polls have been open, it has not changed the number of voters who come out to vote.” Farina also pointed out that keeping the polls open extra hours would cost thousands of additional dollars since people would have to be paid to man the voting booths. City Councilman Tony Soares was quick to say that he thought that keeping the polling places open the additional amount of time was worth the money. “I don’t think the cost of the right to vote in America can ever be too expensive,” he said. Even though the resolution passed, Business Administrator George Crimmins pointed out that it might not have any impact on the elections, which are slated for April 18. “I believe that the school board has already met, set their hours and gone to the printer,” he said.