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. The first paragraph of section 4 of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "department", in line 47, the following words:- ; and provided, further, that the name and address of any person who provides the registrars with a copy of a court order granting protection, or evidence of residence in a protective shelter shall not appear on the street list and such names shall not be disclosed to any person.

SECTION 2. Section 37 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "first", in line 37, the following words:- , except the name of any person who provides the registrars with a copy of a court order granting protection, or evidence of residence in a protective shelter.

SECTION 3. Section 44 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The affidavit of any person who provides the registrars with a copy of a court order granting protection, or evidence of residence in a protective shelter shall not be a public record.

SECTION 4. Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 51 the following section:-

Section 51A. To every person whose affidavit of voter registration is not a public record, and whose name and address do not appear on the annual register pursuant to sections thirty-seven and forty-four, the registrars shall issue a certificate entitled "Confidential Registration", similar to that provided for in section fifty-nine. Upon presentation of such certificate to the presiding officer at the proper polling place or, in the case of an absent voter, if such certificate is attached to the voting lists, such person shall have the same right to vote as any other registered voter. Except in the case of an absent voter, after such person has voted, the presiding officer shall attach the certificate to the voting list and it shall be returned to the registrars. Any such certificate shall not be a public record and no person shall make any statement or give any information in regard thereto, except as required by law.

SECTION 5. Section 14 of chapter 56 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- A primary or election officer who makes any statement or gives any information in regard to a Confidential Registration certificate, as defined in section fifty-one A of chapter fifty-one, except as required by law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year.