HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 813        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 586

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to the voting procedures for presidential electors..

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 8 of chapter 53 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after “electors”, in line 15, the following sentence:- “One presidential elector shall be chosen from each congressional district, and two presidential electors shall be chosen at large.”

SECTION 2. Chapter 54 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 148 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 148. The persons chosen as presidential electors shall meet at the state house on the date fixed by federal law next following their election at three o'clock in the afternoon and organize by the choice of a presiding officer and secretary. The state secretary shall call the meeting to order, call the roll of electors, and preside until a presiding officer shall be chosen. The secretary of the electors shall keep a journal of their proceedings and deposit the same in the office of the state secretary, where it shall be recorded and filed.  Each at-large presidential elector shall cast his ballot for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates whose electors received the highest number of votes in the state.  Each congressional district presidential elector shall cast his ballot for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates whose electors received the highest number of votes in his congressional district.