HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2711        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2080

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Evandro C. Carvalho

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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 relative to automatic voter registration.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2711        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2080

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4097 OF 2015-2016.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act relative to automatic voter registration.

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

Chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 65. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-

“Non-registration agency”, the department of housing and community development, the department of revenue, the department of higher education, and all public institutions of higher education as established pursuant to section 5 of chapter 15A.

“Notice of other registration information changes”, information received by a voter registration agency or non-registration agency regarding the: (1) legal name, (2) occupation, (3) date of birth, (4) veteran status, or (5) primary phone number of a voter, that differs from the information contained in the central registry of voters.

“Notice of residency change”, information received by a voter registration agency or non-registration agency regarding the primary residence of a voter that differs from the address of record in the central registry of voters.

“Private institution of higher education”, a non-profit or for-profit degree-granting private educational institution within the commonwealth authorized by law to provide a program of education beyond the secondary school level.

“Voter”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 50.

“Voter registration agency”, the state secretary, the registry of motor vehicles, any board of election commissioners established pursuant to section 16A of this chapter, and any board of registrars established pursuant to section 17 of this chapter.

“Voter registration information”, (1) legal name, (2) occupation, (3) date of birth, (4) veteran status, (5) primary phone number of a voter, or (6) primary residence, of a voter.

(b)(1) The state secretary, in consultation with non-registration agencies, shall establish a system that shall automatically update a voter’s registration information whenever the voter provides a voter registration agency, non-registration agency, or a private institution of higher education with a notice of residency change or notice of other registration information changes. 

(2) The state secretary shall create and maintain a secure online portal by which a voter registration agency or a non-registration agency may determine whether information received from a voter in a notice of residency change or notice of other registration information changes differs from the central registry of voters, and subsequently notify the state secretary of any such difference.  The state secretary shall maintain the privacy of voters registered under section 51A. A name or address disclosed to a voter registration agency or a non-registration agency for the purposes of this section shall not be considered a public record.

(3) A voter registration agency, non-registration agency, or a private institution of higher education shall, upon receipt of any form, document, material or other information that contains voter registration information, compare the voter registration information received with the voter information contained in the central registry of voters.  Any voter registration information received, which differs from the information contained in the central registry of voters, shall be provided to the state secretary through the secure online portal established pursuant to paragraph (2).

(4) Upon the receipt of a notice of residency change or notice of other registration information changes of a voter, the state secretary shall provide notice to the voter at both the residential address contained in the central registry of voters, and the residential address provided in a notice of residency change.  The notice shall include: (i) a statement that the registered voter’s registration information is scheduled to be updated; (ii) the date on which the voter’s registration information will be updated; (iii) the name of the voter registration agency, non-registration agency or private institution of higher education which notified the state secretary that the voter’s registration information differed from the information contained in the central registry of voters; (iv) a description of the waiver process available pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6); and (vi) any other information that the state secretary may deem relevant. 

(5) If the state secretary does not receive a waiver from a voter notified pursuant to paragraph (4) within 30 days of sending the notice, the state secretary shall amend the central registry of voters to conform to the information contained in a notice of residency change or a notice of other registration information received pursuant to this section.

(6) The state secretary shall establish the system required by paragraph (1) and otherwise implement the requirements of this section by promulgating regulations.  The regulations shall:

(A) conform to the requirements of 20 U.S.C. section 1232g where applicable to a public or private institution of higher education shall; and

(B) permit a voter to waive the automatic update of his or her voter registration information by providing a voter registration agency with the voter’s (i) legal name, (ii) primary residence currently contained in the central registry of voters, and (iii) date of birth, accompanied by a signed statement of intent to waive automatic update.  If applicable, a voter registration agency shall forward a copy of the waiver to the state secretary.  Upon receipt of a waiver, from a voter or another registration agency, the state secretary shall not send a notice pursuant to paragraph (4) or update a voter’s registration information pursuant to paragraph (5).

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to register an individual who has not made an affidavit of registration pursuant to section 42.

(d) The registry of motor vehicles, in consultation with the state secretary, shall amend any paper or electronic forms that permit a citizen to register to vote to include a provision permitting the citizen to exclude their voter registration information from automatic update.