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H808 • 2025

An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate

An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate

Elections
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Tackey Chan
Last action
2026-03-19
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5251 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate

An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate By Representative Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate By Representative Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 808) of Tackey Chan relative to requiring residency affidavits for candidates for public office.
  • Election Laws.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-19 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5251 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-06-10 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-1

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Election Laws

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act requiring a residency affidavit by a candidate
By Representative Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 808) of Tackey Chan relative to requiring residency affidavits for candidates for public office. Election Laws.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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Bill H.808

Chapter 53 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 11 the following new section:-

Section 11A. A person seeking to be a candidate to hold a state, county or municipal office shall be required, by the deadline for filing nomination papers, to submit an affidavit affirming that they satisfy the residency requirement pursuant to the State Constitution, general laws, special laws, city charter, town charter and municipal laws. Any person seeking to challenge a candidate’s residency shall do so in writing with the city or town clerk for municipal elections or the Secretary of State for state and county elections; provided that said challenge must take place no less than 10 days prior to the date when a candidate can withdraw their candidacy. The person seeking to challenge may include documentation to support the lack of residency claim. Upon receipt of the challenge, the city clerk, town clerk or the Secretary of State shall require the candidate provide proof of residency and issue a written decision within 5 days after the initial challenge; and if the challenge is upheld, the candidate’s nomination shall be withdrawn. The Secretary of State shall establish rules and regulations on what is required for proof of residency, the form of the affidavit, process of initiating challenges and process of review and implementation of this section.

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