Amendment ID: S1975-1-R1

Redraft Amendment 1

Election Day Registration

Messrs. Petruccelli and Eldridge, Ms. Jehlen, Mr. Downing, Ms. Chang-Diaz, Mr. Barrett, Ms. Creem and Mr. Donnelly move to amend the amendment by striking out section 1 and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sections:-

“SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- A person otherwise qualified to vote for national or state officers shall not, by reason of a change of residence within the commonwealth, be disqualified from voting for such national or state officers in the city or town from which the person has removed residence until the expiration of 6 months from that removal, but a person having changed residence shall be eligible to register under section 34A.

SECTION 1A. Section 3 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “registration”, in line 7 and in lines 15 and 16, the following words:- or under section 34A.

SECTION 1B. Section 4 of said chapter 51, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Registrars, assistant registrars or boards in cities or towns communicating with residents by mail for the purpose of obtaining such information may require a response under the penalties of perjury.”;

by inserting after section 3 the following section:-

“SECTION 3A. Said chapter 51 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 34 the following section:-

Section 34A. (a) An individual who is eligible to vote may register on the day of an election by (i) appearing in person at the polling place, during the hours it is open for voting, for the precinct in which the individual maintains residence; (ii) by completing a registration affidavit in a form prescribed by the state secretary which complies with the identity requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 15483; (iii) by presenting to the appropriate election officer proof of residency; and (iv) by making a written oath which shall be as follows:

I certify that I am a citizen of the United States; I am at least 18 years old; I am not under guardianship or otherwise prohibited from voting; I am not temporarily or permanently disqualified by law because of corrupt practices in respect to elections; and I have read and understand this statement; I further understand that giving false information is a felony punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment or a fine of not more than $10,000 or both.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term “proof of residency” shall mean 1 of the following, so long as it includes the name of the applicant and the address from which the applicant is registering:

(i) a current and valid photo identification including, but not limited to, a Massachusetts driver’s license or other state-issued identification card; or

(ii) other documentation demonstrating the name and address where the applicant maintains residence and seeks to register including, but not limited to, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, residential lease agreement, wireless telephone statement, paycheck, other government document or correspondence or a current student fee statement or other document from a post-secondary educational institution that verifies the student’s current address.

(c) Upon meeting the identity requirements and the making of the oath requirements of subsection (a) and the production of proof of residence under subsection (b), the election officers shall permit the affiant to vote on the day of an election and the registrars shall place the applicant’s name and address on the annual register of voters as soon as reasonably practicable following the date of the election as prescribed by the state secretary. Any person who registers to vote on the day of an election under this section shall, unless determined to be illegally or incorrectly registered under sections 48 and 49, be registered to vote at all subsequent primaries and elections.

(d) The state secretary shall make available to the election officers at each polling place, to the extent possible, access to the central registry of voters set forth in section 47C. For the purposes of this section, a printed copy of all voters registered to vote in the precinct or precincts in that polling place, as of the last day of the registration period, as required by sections 55 and 60, shall be sufficient.

(e) This section shall apply to all primaries and elections, including the early voting period established in section 25B of chapter 54, but shall not apply to an annual town meeting or special town meeting.

(f) A registered voter shall not re-register on the day of an election for the exclusive purpose of altering the party affiliation of that voter.

(g) The state secretary shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

(h) Upon credible information or allegation of illegal voter registration or credible information or allegation of illegal multiple voting, there shall be an investigation of that information or allegation by the attorney general or by the district attorney having jurisdiction over the municipality in which the alleged illegal registration or illegal multiple voting occurred. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent enforcement of this section by any means otherwise provided by law.

(i) A violation of this section shall be punishable under sections 8, 26 and 27 of chapter 56.”;

in section 11, in proposed section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws, by adding the following subsection:-

“(o) A person may register to vote during the early voting period under section 34A of chapter 51.”; and

by adding the following section:-

“SECTION 18A. Sections 1, 1A and 3A shall take effect on January 1, 2015.”