Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- If a town votes to reduce a board of three members to a single officer, such vote shall take effect at the following annual town meeting, and upon election and qualification of such officer the term of said board shall terminate; provided, however, that in towns where official ballots are used, unless the vote thus passed is more than sixty days before the annual town election, it shall not take effect until the next annual town election.

SECTION 2. The first paragraph of section 42A of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence.

SECTION 3. The second paragraph of said section 42A of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The application shall be made, not later than the third day before the last day for registration of voters under section twenty-six, to the registrars of voters of the city or town in which the applicant resides.

SECTION 4. Section 8 of chapter 52 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word "governor" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- any office to be filled by all the voters of the commonwealth.

SECTION 5. Section 18A of chapter 53 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the word "thirtieth" and inserting in place thereof the word:- thirty-fifth.

SECTION 6. Said section 18A of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 26, the word "thirty" and inserting in place thereof the word:- thirty-five.

SECTION 7. Section 34A of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Envelopes conforming substantially to subsections (c) and (d) of section eighty-seven of said chapter fifty-four.

SECTION 8. Said chapter 53 is hereby further amended by striking out section 38A, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 38A. The board of registrars of voters of every city or town shall submit to the state secretary a count for each precinct of the number of voters enrolled in each political party or political designation and the number of unenrolled voters. The count shall be correct as of the last day to register voters under section twenty-six of chapter fifty-one before every regular state and presidential primary and biennial state election, and in an even-numbered year in which no presidential primary is held, also as of February first. The secretary shall receive the count in writing not later than ten days after each such date, and shall issue a report thereof.

SECTION 9. Section 24 of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- When a polling place in a voting precinct is changed from one location to another, the board of election commissioners in the city of Boston, the aldermen in any other city or the selectmen in any town shall cause printed descriptions of such polling place to be posted in such public places in such precinct as they determine and shall give notice by mail to each residence of one or more registered voters therein.

SECTION 10. Section 42 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 60, the word "city" and inserting in place thereof the words:- electoral district, city.

SECTION 11. Sections fifty-five to fifty-eight, inclusive, of said chapter fifty-four are hereby repealed.

SECTION 12. Section 58A of said chapter 54, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The provisions of this section, including the provision for a fair, concise summary determined by the city solicitor or town counsel, shall also apply whenever any special act is submitted for acceptance to the voters of a city or town, except to the extent that the special act expressly provides otherwise.

SECTION 13. Said chapter 54 is hereby further amended by striking out section 93, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 93. All absent voting ballots voted as provided in section ninety-two shall be received by the city or town clerk before the hour fixed for closing the polls.

SECTION 14. The second paragraph of section 95 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the fourth sentence and inserting in place thereof the following two sentences:- Such ballots from outside the United States, received on or after the day of a state election in accordance with section ninety-nine, and which are counted at the office of the registrars, shall be counted at a public meeting of the board of registrars of voters. The registrars may hold this meeting as soon as they have received all absent voting ballots mailed to such voters outside the United States, but shall hold it in any event after five o'clock in the afternoon on the tenth day following such state election.