HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2313        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 557

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Denise Andrews

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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 permanent voter registration for registered voters who move within the commonwealth.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2313        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 557

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1120 OF 2011-2012.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act establishing permanent voter registration for registered voters who move within the commonwealth.

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:  After section 63 of chapter 51 of the Massachusetts General Laws , the following new section is added:

Section 64: Electronic updating of the annual register of voters and central voter registry by the secretary of the commonwealth.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of the commonwealth shall receive data from the Massachusetts registry of motor vehicles, the department of transitional assistance, the department of housing and community development, the office of Medicaid, and the United States Postal Service, in order to ascertain whether any persons, who otherwise already have a valid and complete affidavit of voter registration, have changed their address within the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

At least every three months, the secretary of the commonwealth shall seek information from the registry of motor vehicles, the department of transitional assistance, the department of housing and community development, the office of Medicaid, and the United States Postal Service.  These agencies shall electronically transmit to the secretary of the commonwealth information for persons who have changed their address in the past year, including, where available:

     (i) Name, current address, mailing address, date of birth, identification # (driver’s license number or last 4 digits of social security number), and telephone number; and

     (ii) Date, time, and nature of the last change to the information;

     (iii) Any additional information designated by the secretary of the commonwealth for such purposes and reasonably related to the management of elections;

     (iv) If information is sent because it has changed since the last transmission from the source agency, the source agency shall transmit both the new information and the old information, labeled accordingly.

If the information transferred  reflects a person already included in the central registry of voters as a duly registered voter, and if the information reliably indicates a more recent update to the person’s name or address, the secretary of the commonwealth shall ensure that the person’s records in the central registry of voters are updated accordingly, and shall alert the appropriate municipal registrars to update the person’s records in their annual register of voters accordingly.

The secretary of the commonwealth shall ensure that each voter whose address is changed in the central registry of voters is promptly sent written notice of the change.   Any notice required by this section may be sent with other notices required or permitted by law.

SECTION 2: This Act shall take effect 1 year from the date of passage.