An Act relative to election day registration

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Bill H.5001

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No. 5001

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
——————

INITIATIVE PETITION OF

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.

BOSTON, JANUARY 3, 2018.

Timothy Carroll
Clerk of the House of Representatives
State House
Boston, Massachusetts 02133

Sincerely,

WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
Secretary of the Commonwealth.

AN INITIATIVE PETITION.

Pursuant to Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, as amended, the undersigned qualified voters of the Commonwealth, ten in number at least, hereby petition for the enactment into law of the following measure:

FILED ON: 2/4/2026

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- A person otherwise qualified to vote for national or state officers, but who has not registered in accordance with the provisions of section 26 of this chapter shall be eligible to register under section 34A.

SECTION 2. Section 1F of chapter 51 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended, by striking out section 3, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:

Section 3. For all elections and primaries, a person shall be registered and may vote in the voting precinct where they reside; provided, however, that any registered voter of a city or town who moves to any other precinct in said city or town or to another city or town may register to vote at their new address by making written application to the city or town clerk no later than the close of registration or in accordance with the provisions of section 34A of this chapter. A new resident of the city or town may also, upon like application, be registered at the new address by making written application to the city or town clerk no later than the close of registration or in accordance with the provisions of section 34A. The city or town clerk shall forthwith notify each voter making any such written application that the same has been received and that they may vote, subject to the provision of this section regarding the close of registration, in the precinct into which they have moved or in accordance with provisions of section 34A.

SECTION 4. Section 26 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the last sentence.

SECTION 5. Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by striking out section 34, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:—

Section 34. Except as otherwise provided in section 34A, after 5:00 p.m. of a day on which registration is to cease, the registrars shall not register any person to vote in the next election, except that they shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to each person waiting in line at the hour of 5:00 pm for the purpose of being registered, a card or slip of identification bearing such person’s name and shall, before registration ceases, permit such person to register.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 34 the following section: —

Section 34A. (a) An individual who is eligible to vote may register on the day of an election by appearing in person at the appropriate polling place for the precinct in which they reside, during the hours in which polls are open for voting, by completing a registration application in a form prescribed by the state secretary, by presenting to the appropriate election official proof of residency and by making a written oath which shall be as follows: I certify that I: am a citizen of the United States; am at least 18 years old; am not under guardianship that prohibits me from registering and/or voting or otherwise prohibited from voting; am not temporarily or permanently disqualified by law because of corrupt practices in respect to elections; have not and will not vote in this election in any other location within the Commonwealth or elsewhere; have read and understand this statement. I further understand that giving false information is a felony punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term “proof of residence” shall mean one of the following, so long as it includes the name of the applicant and the address from which they are registering:

(i) a valid photo identification including, but not limited to, a Massachusetts driver’s license or other state-issued identification card; or

(ii) other documentation demonstrating the name and address where the applicant maintains residence and seeks to register including, but not limited to, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, residential lease agreement, wireless telephone statement, paycheck, other government document or correspondence, a current student fee statement or other document from a post-secondary educational institution that verifies the student’s current address.

(c) Upon meeting the identity requirements of subsection (a), production of proof of residence, and the making of an oath sufficient to support registration, the ballot clerk or their designee shall permit the applicant to vote in that election. Any person who registers to vote on the day of an election in accordance with this section shall, absent disqualification, be registered to vote at all subsequent primaries and elections.

(d) A registrant who fails to present suitable identification shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot pursuant to the provisions of section 76C of chapter 54, but shall be required to return before the close of polls on a municipal election, within two business days after a state primary or within six days following a state election to present sufficient identification to the local election officials in order for the local election officials to determine that the registrant is qualified to vote in such election and whether to count the provisional ballot.

(e) Not less than seven days prior to any election, the registrars for each city or town shall publish all polling locations and the applicable dates and hours. Notice shall be conspicuously posted in the office of the local election officials or on the principal official bulletin board of each city or town, on any other public building considered necessary, on the city or town's website, if any, and on the website of the state secretary.

(f) The state secretary shall make available to the election officers at each polling location, to the extent possible, access to the statewide list of registered voters as contained in the central registry of voters set forth in section 47C.

(g) The local election officials may correct information supplied by the registrant to the extent necessary to maintain the integrity of their records. If an affidavit is incomplete or if it appears from the facts set forth in the affidavit that the registrant is not qualified to register as a voter, the local election officials shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section forty-seven.

(h) As soon as practicable after the election, but not more than thirty days after the election, the registrars shall add the registrant’s name, address and effective date of registration to the annual register of voters.

(i) This section shall not apply to an individual seeking to register to vote in any town for the purposes of voting at annual town meeting or special town meeting.

(j) A voter shall not change party enrollment at a primary under this section.

(k) The state secretary shall adopt regulations to implement the relevant provisions of this chapter.

(l) Upon credible information or allegation of illegal voter registration, or credible information or allegation of illegal multiple voting, there shall be an investigation upon the merits of said information or allegation by the attorney general, or by the district attorney having jurisdiction over the municipality in which the alleged illegal registration or illegal multiple voting occurred. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as excluding enforcement of this section by any means otherwise provided by law.

(m) Violations of this section shall be punishable under sections 8, 26 and 27, of chapter 56.

SECTION 7.This act shall take effect on January 1, 2028.

FIRST TEN SIGNERS
Name
Residence
City or Town

CERTIFICATE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Honorable William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

RE:

Initiative Petition No. 25-08: An Act relative to election day registration

Dear Secretary Galvin:

In accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, I have reviewed the above-referenced initiative petition, which was submitted to me on or before the first Wednesday of August of this year.

I hereby certify that this measure is in proper form for submission to the people; that the measure is not, either affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections; and that it contains only subjects that are related or are mutually dependent and which are not excluded from the initiative process pursuant to Article 48, the Initiative, Part 2, Section 2.

In accordance with Article 48, I enclose a fair, concise summary of the measure.

Sincerely,

INSPECTOR GENERAL,
Attorney General.

Summary of 25-08.

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