HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3031        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 802

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

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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 examining election reform efforts in the 2020 election cycle.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3031        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 802

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to examining election reform efforts in the 2020 election cycle.

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. Notwithstanding any general provisions or special laws to the contrary, there is hereby established a commission to study the effects drawn from the implementation of Chapter 115 of the Acts of 2020. The study shall include, but not be limited to: the change in the number of voters who turned out to vote in the 2020 primary and general elections compared with that of past election cycles, the use of each voting option compared with past election cycles, the impact on voter accessibility for all methods of voting, the change in the number of required poll and election workers for each municipality, the costs related to security for mail-in balloting and election day voting, and any change in the level of voting irregularities as compared with past election cycles. The commission shall provide a financial analysis of the cost associated with the implementation and execution of each method of voting during the 2020 election cycle along with a comparative analysis, which provides information on previous election costs. The commission shall also consider whether it would be advantageous for the Commonwealth to permanently extend the number of voting options for federal, state, county, and municipal elections for future election cycles. In doing so, the commission shall consider the constitutionality of a permanent change to mail-in voting procedures.

The commission shall consist of thirteen members: the secretary of state or a designee, the president of the senate or a designee, the speaker of the house or a designee, the senate minority leader or a designee, the house minority leader or a designee, the chairs of the committee on election laws or two designees, the director of the office of campaign and political finance or a designee, the chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties of Massachusetts or two designees, and three members to be selected by the Governor, one of which shall be a professor of political science, one of which shall be a representative of a grassroots advocacy organization based in Massachusetts, and one of which shall be a town clerk. The office of the secretary of state and its subdivisions shall provide technical support to the commission. The commission shall meet not less than twelve times. The commission shall draw expert testimony from voter stakeholders during their deliberations including, but not limited to: the ACLU of Massachusetts, Common Cause Massachusetts, MassVOTE, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Pioneer Institute, the Beacon Hill Institute, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, and the League of Women Voters. The commission shall file a report with the legislature on their findings and any recommendations by December 31, 2021.