SECTION 1.  Section 1 of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-  Any person otherwise qualified to vote for national or state officers shall, by reason of a change of residence, be disqualified to vote for such officers in the city or town from which he has removed his residence; provided further, that a person having changed his residence shall be eligible to register pursuant to section 34A.

SECTION 2.  Said section 1 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last sentence, as amended by section 1 of this act, and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-  No person otherwise qualified to vote for national or state officers shall, by reason of a change of residence within the commonwealth, be disqualified from voting for such officers in the city or town from which he has removed his residence until the expiration of 6 months from such removal.

SECTION 3.  Section 3 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended, by inserting, after the word, “registration” in lines 7 and 16, the following words:- , or in accordance with the provisions of section 34A.

SECTION  4.  Section 26 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 9 and 10, the word “eight” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- 5.

SECTION 5.  Said section 26 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 9 and 10, amended by section 4 of this act, the figure “5”, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- 8.

SECTION  6.  Said section 26 of said chapter 51, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 10, the words “twentieth day” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- fourteenth day.

SECTION  7.  Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by striking out section 28, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 

Section 28.  They shall hold a continuous session from 9 o’clock ante meridian until 5 o’clock post meridian on the last day for registration prescribed under section 26; provided, however, that in towns having less than 1,500 voters, such session shall be sufficient if it includes the time from 9 o’clock until 11 o’clock ante meridian and from 2 o’clock until 5 o’clock post meridian.

SECTION 8.  Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by striking out section 28, as amended by section 7 of this act, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 

Section 28.  They shall hold a continuous session from nine o'clock ante meridian until eight o'clock in the evening on the last day for registration prescribed under section 26; provided, however, that in towns having less than 1,500 voters, such session shall be sufficient if it includes the time from 2 to 4 o'clock in the afternoon and from 7 to 8 o'clock in the evening.

SECTION  9.  Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by striking out section 34, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 34.  Except as otherwise provided in section 34A, after 5 o’clock post meridian of a day on which registration is to cease, the registrars shall not register any person to vote in the next state election, except that they shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to each person waiting in line at said hour of 5 o’clock 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. The registrars may, however, enter or correct on the registers the names of persons who have registered as voters between December thirty first preceding and the close of registration.

SECTION  10.  Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by striking out section 34, as amended by section 9 of this act, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 34.  After 8 o'clock in the evening of a day on which registration is to cease, the registrars shall not register any person to vote in the next primary or election, except that they shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to each person waiting in line at said hour of 8 o'clock 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. The registrars may, however, enter or correct on the registers the names of persons who have registered as voters between December thirty-first preceding and the close of registration.

SECTION 11.   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 a state election by appearing in person at the polling place for the precinct in which the individual maintains residence, by completing a registration application in a form prescribed by the state secretary which complies with identity requirements of 42 U.S.C. section 15483, 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 or otherwise prohibited from voting; am not temporarily or permanently disqualified by law because of corrupt practices in respect to elections; have read and understand this statement:  I further understand that giving false information is a felony punishable by not more than five 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 1 of the following, so long as it includes the name of the applicant and the address from which he or she is registering:

(i)         a valid photo identification including, but not limited to, a Massachusetts drivers 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, paycheck, other government document or a current student fee statement.

(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 his or her designee shall permit the applicant to vote on the day of a state election and the registrar or his or her designee shall place the applicant’s name and address on the annual register of voters as soon as reasonably practicable following the date of the state election as prescribed by the state secretary.  Any person who registers to vote on the day of a state election in accordance with this section shall, absent disqualification, be registered to vote at all subsequent primaries and elections.

(d)  The state secretary shall make available, to the election officers, to the extent possible, at each polling place, access to the central registry of voters set forth in section 47C.  For the purposes of this section, a printed copy of all voters registered to vote in that precinct as of the last day of the registration period, as required by sections 55 and 60, shall be sufficient.

e) 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 or at an annual or special town election or to any individual seeking to register to vote in any city or town for the purposes of voting at an regular or special preliminary or regular or special municipal election after the applicable registration period prescribed in section 26 has closed.  This section shall not apply to an individual seeking to register to vote in any city or town for the purposes of voting at any special state primary or special state election or at any biennial state primary.   

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

(g) 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.

(h) Violations of this section shall be punishable pursuant to sections 8, 26 and 27, of chapter 56.

SECTION  12.  Section 38 of chapter 53 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 5, the words “eight o’clock in the evening of the twentieth day” and inserting in place thereof, the following words:- 8 o’clock post meridian of the fourteenth day;

SECTION 13.  Said section 38 of said chapter 53, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 18, the word “twenty” and inserting in place thereof, the figure:- 14

SECTION  14.  There shall be an advisory committee on the implementation of election day registration.  Among other issues it may consider, the advisory committee shall study the resources necessary, costs associated with, and feasibility of providing every polling location with real-time electronic access to the central registry of voters.  The advisory committee shall be comprised of the secretary of state, or his designee, who shall serve as the chair of the advisory committee, the attorney general, or her designee, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on election laws, or their designees, 2 representatives of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, at least one of whom shall be a town clerk from a town of under 5,000 inhabitants, and 2 representatives of the Massachusetts City Clerks Association.  The advisory committee shall complete its study of electronic access and submit its report in writing to the joint committee on election laws and the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before March 1, 2012.

SECTION 15.  Sections 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 11 are hereby repealed.

SECTION 16.  Section 15 shall take effect on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 17.  Sections 2, 5, 8, and 10 shall take effect on July 1, 2012.