S2654 An Act establishing vote by mail in 2020 — File 210116

1 of 8 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2912 FILED ON: 4/14/2020 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2654 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Rebecca L. Rausch _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act establishing vote by mail in 2020. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: Rebecca L. Rausch Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex Adrian C. Madaro 1st Suffolk Adam G. Hinds Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden 4/17/2020 Nika C. Elugardo 15th Suffolk 4/15/2020 Maria Duaime Robinson 6th Middlesex 4/15/2020 Marcos A. Devers 16th Essex 4/15/2020 Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex 4/15/2020 Jack Patrick Lewis 7th Middlesex 4/15/2020 Joanne M. Comerford Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester 4/15/2020 David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf 17th Worcester 4/15/2020 Kathleen R. LaNatra 12th Plymouth 4/15/2020 Paul R. Feeney Bristol and Norfolk 4/16/2020 Jeffrey N. Roy 10th Norfolk 4/16/2020 Sal N. DiDomenico Middlesex and Suffolk 4/16/2020 Sonia Chang-Diaz Second Suffolk 4/16/2020 Tami L. Gouveia 14th Middlesex 4/17/2020 Patricia D. Jehlen Second Middlesex 4/17/2020

2 of 8 David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex 4/17/2020 Kay Khan 11th Middlesex 4/19/2020 Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex 4/20/2020 Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex 4/20/2020 Diana DiZoglio First Essex 4/21/2020

3 of 8 SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2912 FILED ON: 4/14/2020 SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2654 By Ms. Rausch, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2654) (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Rebecca L. Rausch, Adrian C. Madaro, Adam G. Hinds, Nika C. Elugardo and other members of the General Court for legislation to establish vote by mail in 2020. Election Laws. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court (2019-2020) _______________ An Act establishing vote by mail in 2020. Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to safeguard the right to vote during the unprecedented COVID-19 public health crisis, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety and health. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Section 47C of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 2 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- 3 The central registry shall be digitally maintained using the most advanced applicable 4 technology reasonably available to the secretary. The secretary shall provide to the election 5 officials at each polling place in the commonwealth, digital access to the central registry 6 sufficient to allow for designated election officials to conduct real-time searches of the registry 7 and to modify a voter’s registration information upon presentation by the voter of appropriate 8 documentation to justify the modification.

4 of 8 9 SECTION 2. Chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, 10 is hereby amended by adding the following section:- 11 Section 163. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the 2020 Vote By Mail 12 Act. 13 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws or 14 any other general or special law to the contrary, an early voting ballot cast by mail under this 15 section shall be timely case if: (i) in a state primary election, the ballot is received by the city or 16 town clerk at or before the hour fixed for closing the polls; and (ii) in a state general election, the 17 ballot is postmarked no later than election day and received by the city or town clerk no later 18 than 5 days following election day. 19 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws 20 or any other general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of the commonwealth shall, not 21 less than 18 days in advance of a scheduled state election, cause to be delivered to every 22 registered voter at the address listed in the central registry a ballot package for early voting by 23 mail. The ballot package shall include: (i) an official ballot; (ii) a secrecy envelope or sleeve; (iii) 24 a postage prepaid return envelope, addressed to the clerk of the city or town in which the voter is 25 registered, which envelope shall bear: (1) an affidavit to be signed by the voter confirming the 26 voter’s compliance with section 26 of chapter 56 of the General Laws, and (2) the date by which 27 the enclosed ballot must be postmarked or received in order to be timely cast, provided that said 28 date shall appear in bold font and in a font size at least 12 points larger than any other type on the 29 envelope; and (iv) instructions, printed in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Haitian, for

5 of 8 30 properly completing and mailing the ballot to ensure every registered voter has clear guidance 31 and the greatest opportunity to vote by mail. 32 For a state primary election, the secretary shall cause to be delivered to voters registered 33 with a political party the primary ballot for that party. Voters unenrolled in a political party may 34 request a specific party’s primary ballot in a manner to be determined by the secretary; provided, 35 however, that the secretary shall implement a system for receiving requests both electronically 36 via web portal and in hard copy via postal mail; and provided further, that voters must submit the 37 request to the secretary no later than 35 days in advance of a scheduled state primary election. 38 (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws 39 or any other general or special law to the contrary, a voter desiring to vote by mail using the 40 ballot described in paragraph (c) of this section shall: (i) mark said ballot in the presence of no 41 other person, except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section; (ii) enclose and seal the ballot in 42 the return envelope provided; (iii) execute the affidavit on the return envelope; and (iv) mail the 43 ballot, sealed in the return envelope, to the city or town clerk. 44 (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws 45 or any other general or special law to the contrary, a voter unable to mark their ballot or execute 46 the affidavit on the return envelope due to physical disability or inability to read English may be 47 assisted in completing and submitting their ballot by another person designated by the voter, 48 which designated person shall add their name in the appropriate space on the return envelope. 49 (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws 50 or any other general or special law to the contrary, a voter who makes a mistake in marking their

6 of 8 51 ballot may return the ballot to the secretary of the commonwealth and request a new ballot. 52 Voters shall be allowed up to a total of three ballots. 53 (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws 54 or any other general or special law to the contrary, a voter who does not receive a vote by mail 55 ballot package may notify the secretary of the commonwealth and request a replacement ballot. 56 The secretary shall issue replacement ballots within 48 hours after receiving a request therefor. 57 (h) The secretary of the commonwealth shall procure, implement, and give all city and 58 town clerks access to ballot tracking software to permit the tracking of all ballots issued and cast 59 pursuant to the 2020 Vote By Mail Act. 60 (i) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 54 of the General Laws or any other general 61 or special law to the contrary, city and town clerks may, with the approval of the secretary of the 62 commonwealth or his designee and in consultation with the commissioner of the department of 63 public health, reasonably reduce the number of poll workers required at a polling place to protect 64 public health. 65 (j) If the state of emergency declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020 is still in effect 66 on the date of a state election, or as may be required due to the outbreak of the 2019 novel 67 coronavirus, known as COVID-19, the secretary of the commonwealth shall provide personal 68 protective equipment for all poll workers. 69 (k) The secretary of the commonwealth shall conduct a public awareness campaign to 70 inform voters throughout the commonwealth about this 2020 Vote By Mail Act and the attendant 71 procedures and requirements for voting by mail.

7 of 8 72 (l) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit any voter who does not return a valid ballot by 73 mail from voting in person on the election day applicable to the unreturned ballot. 74 (m) This section shall expire on December 31, 2020. 75 SECTION 3. Section 25B of said chapter 54 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is 76 hereby amended by adding after the word “chapter” in paragraph (n) the following:- “, provided, 77 however, that the election officers of any city or town shall be permitted to count early voting 78 ballots upon receipt or at any convenient time thereafter”. 79 SECTION 4. The secretary of the commonwealth shall use funds provided to the state 80 pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 52 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq., known as HAVA, to 81 cover all costs associated with the implementation of this act, unless said costs are expressly 82 prohibited expenditures pursuant to HAVA. 83 SECTION 5. There shall be a 2020 Vote By Mail Fund that shall be administered by the 84 secretary of the commonwealth, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this Act. The 85 fund shall be supplemental to the HAVA funds accessible to the secretary, and shall be credited 86 with such additional appropriations as may be authorized or transferred by the general court and 87 specifically designated to be credited to the fund; provided, however, that any costs of 88 implementation must be paid first using funds made available to the state pursuant to HAVA, 89 unless said costs are expressly prohibited expenditures pursuant to HAVA, or until such funds 90 have been depleted. 91 SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the first 92 Tuesday of November in even-numbered years shall be considered a “legal holiday” as defined 93 in the Eighteenth clause of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, to be observed in the

8 of 8 94 same manner as other legal holidays in the commonwealth; provided, however, that holiday 95 observance shall not apply public employees whose jobs pertain to the operation and 96 administration of elections.