HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2766        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 832

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sean Garballey

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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 uniformity of ballots in polling places.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2766        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 832

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4689 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act relative to uniformity of ballots in polling places.

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

Section 44 of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Ballots for an election shall be uniform in size, material and content for all voters, regardless of whether the ballot is voted on a ballot-marking device or directly on a paper ballot; provided, however, the state secretary may provide ballots that are not uniform when necessary to: (i) comply with federal law; (ii) accommodate voting or tabulating; or (iii) accommodate hand count tabulation methods. Ballots shall be tabulated directly from the voter-marked selections and not from a barcode, QR code or other representation not marked by the voter, either on a ballot-marking device or directly on paper.