Secretary of State William F. Galvin said he will oversee an upcoming election in Everett, specifically the use of absentee ballots, after a federal investigation found that a former state representative rigged ballots in three recent elections.

Galvin’s announcement was made Friday as Stephen W. Smith, who resigned his seat after he was implicated, pleaded guilty in federal court to two civil rights violations of deprivation of rights under the color of law, for infringing on others’ voting rights.