reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42 - Affidavit of Registration; Exception

Section 42. Registration as a voter shall be by affidavit of registration made in conformity with the requirements of this chapter by any person at least 16 years of age or older. Except as provided in sections 42A and 65, every person whose name has not been entered in the annual register in accordance with sections thirty-four through thirty-seven inclusive, or a corresponding provision of law applicable to a city or town having a listing board, must, in order to register as a voter, make an affidavit of registration as provided in this chapter and in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42a - Physically Disabled Applicants

Section 42A. Any person claiming to have the qualifications for voting in any city or town who, by reason of physical disability, is unable to appear in person to register may make application, in writing, to the registrars of voters of such city or town for registration in the manner hereinafter provided.  The application shall be made, not later than the third day before the last day for registration of voters under section twenty-six, to the registrars of voters of the city or town in which the applicant resides. Applications received after such third day shall not be acted upon.  The registrars shall seasonably after receipt of an application for registration under this section delegate two registrars, assistant registrars, or absent registration officers to visit the person making the same, and the said officers, equally representing the two political parties, if satisfied that the applicant is unable by reason of physical disability to appear in person to register, shall provide him with a blank affidavit of registration and shall witness the signing thereof. No such person shall be provided with an affidavit of registration after the close of registration nor in any city or town other than that in which he claims the right to vote; provided, however, if the applicant is in the military or naval service of the United States, he may so register up until four o'clock post meridian on the day preceding a primary election, preliminary election or election.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42c - Registration Sessions in High Schools and Vocational Schools

Section 42C. In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, voter education and voluntary registration sessions shall be held by the registrars, assistant registrars or election commissioners one day each year between the first day of April and the fifteenth day of May in each public, private and vocational high school in their cities and towns. Said sessions shall take place as part of an educational assembly for all seniors.  A registrar or assistant registrar at a session held pursuant to the provisions of this section may receive affidavits of registration from registrants who reside in any other city or town of the commonwealth. The registrars shall forthwith transmit any such completed affidavits of registration to the registrars of the city or town where the registrant claims to reside, and said registrars shall receive such affidavits as provided in sections forty-six to forty-seven B, inclusive.  This section shall take effect upon its acceptance by any city or town.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42d - Registration Sessions in Regional High Schools, Colleges or Universities

Section 42D. The registrars or election commissioners may hold registration sessions in any regional high school, college or university, in any city or town in the commonwealth where there are persons entitled to be registered in their city or town who are regularly gathered there by reason of education or employment.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42e - Voter Registration Affidavit Forms for College, High School and Vocational School Students

Section 42E. All public and independent colleges, universities, high schools and vocational schools shall make available affidavit of voter registration forms at all locations where students may register for classes. Such locations shall be published along with the annual course listing for students or in some other schoolwide publication. Every such school shall publicize the availability of such voter registration affidavit forms within the school.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42f - Affidavits of Registration From Registrants Residing in Other Cities or Towns

Section 42F. At every registration session held pursuant to this chapter, a registrar or assistant registrar shall receive affidavits of registration from registrants who reside in any other city or town of the commonwealth. The registrars shall forthwith transmit any such completed affidavits of registration to the registrars of the city or town where such registrant claims to reside, and said registrars shall receive such affidavits as provided in sections forty-six to forty-seven B, inclusive. All registration agencies shall use the registration affidavit form prescribed by the state secretary under section thirty-six.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42g - Transmission of Completed Affidavits to City or Town Where Registrant Resides; Cooperative Agreements

Section 42G. (a) Registration agencies required to provide voter registration services by section 1 of chapter 50 shall conduct voter registration in a manner that is as efficient, comprehensive and automated as practicable. Registration agencies shall transmit each completed affidavit of voter registration to the board of registrars or election commission of the city or town where the registrant resides; provided, however, that an automatic voter registration agency that collects and transmits applicant data electronically shall ensure that the applicant data is transmitted to the state secretary, who shall transmit such information to the board of registrars or election commission of the city or town where the applicant resides. The state secretary shall adopt regulations governing such transmission, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) provisions requiring electronic transmission; (ii) the frequency and nature of such transmissions; (iii) data security protocols; and (iv) integration with the online portals established pursuant to section 33A. A registrant shall be deemed to be a registered voter at the time of completion of a signed affidavit of voter registration at a registration agency or on the date that the affidavit of voter registration is postmarked or on the day that it is delivered by hand to the registrars.  (b) The state secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements with additional agencies of state government that agree to function as registration agencies. Such agreements shall provide that the state secretary shall conduct appropriate training of agency staff, provide all forms, material and equipment necessary to carry out voter registration activities, and have oversight responsibility to ensure proper compliance with applicable provisions of federal and state law.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 42h (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 42h - Receipt of Completed Affidavit by Registrar

Section 42H. Registrars of voters in cities and towns shall receive completed affidavits of voter registration from registration agencies, from individuals and organizations conducting voter registration, through the United States mail, through the online portal and by hand delivery. Upon receipt of each completed affidavit, the registrars shall certify the receipt thereof and shall notify the registrant of the disposition of the affidavit. Said registrars shall add the registrant's name, address and effective date of registration to the annual register of voters in accordance with section forty-six, effective at the time set forth in section forty-two G; provided, however, that the state secretary may, by regulation adopted pursuant to section forty-seven C, provide that electronic transmission alone of the information contained in the affidavit of registration shall be sufficient for such purpose. The registrars may correct information supplied by the registrant to the extent necessary to maintain the integrity of their records. If an affidavit is incomplete or if it appears from the facts set forth in the affidavit that the registrant is not qualified to register as a voter, the registrars shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section forty-seven. If an affidavit is dated by the registration agency or postmarked during the period when registration to qualify as a voter in a particular election is prohibited by section twenty-six, the registrant's name shall be added to the annual register for all subsequent elections and the registrars shall so notify such registrant. All records of voter registration held by registration agencies shall be available for inspection and copying by the registrars of the registrant's city or town or by summons in a legal proceeding.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 44 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 44 - Completion of Affidavit of Voter Registration Form

Section 44. A person seeking to register shall complete an affidavit of voter registration form as prescribed in section thirty-six, and shall sign the affidavit under the penalty of perjury. A person registering as a voter may, at the same time, establish his enrollment in a political party or political designation, as provided in section thirty-eight of chapter fifty-three, by indicating his desire to be so enrolled on the affidavit of voter registration. The affidavit of any person who provides the registrars with a copy of a court order granting protection, or evidence of residence in a protective shelter, or an affidavit signed by a chief of police or his designee that said person is entitled to have certain information withheld from the public under section 24C of chapter 265, or a program participant in the address confidentiality program established under section 2 of chapter 9A shall not be a public record.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 45a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 45a - Production of Naturalization Papers for Inspection; Notation

Section 45A. An applicant for registration may produce papers of naturalization for inspection if he so desires, and notation of such production shall be made a part of the registration of said applicant.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 46 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 46 - Affidavit of Registration; Filing; Addition of Voter's Name to Annual Register

Section 46. Upon receipt of a completed affidavit of registration, the registrars shall, except as provided in section forty-seven, place said affidavit in their files and add the name of the voter to the current annual register of voters in the city or town.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 46a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 46a - Transmittal of Duplicate Certificate of Registration to Place of Voter's Last Registration

Section 46A. Except as provided in section forty-seven, the registrars, upon receipt of an affidavit of registration, shall transmit a duplicate copy thereof to the registrars in the city or town where the person last registered to vote, if within the commonwealth, or to the state secretary of the state where the person last registered to vote, if the person had indicated that his previous residence was in that state.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 47 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 47 - Rejection of Defective Affidavit of Registration; Notices to Person Named

Section 47. If, after examination of an affidavit of registration, it appears to the registrars from the facts set forth in the affidavit that the person is not qualified to be registered as a voter or that the affidavit is incomplete, they may decline to enter his name on the annual register. The registrars shall notify any person whose name is not so entered and give him a reasonable opportunity to remedy the defects in his affidavit. If the registrars are still not satisfied that the affidavit meets the requirements of this chapter, they shall not accept it and shall forthwith inform the person thereof.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 47a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 47a - Pre-Registration of Persons Having Obtained the Age of 16

Section 47A. If, after examination of an affidavit of registration, it appears to the registrars that the person has all the qualifications to be registered as a voter except that of age and the person has obtained the age of 16, then they shall enter the person's name in the current annual register of voters with the designation ''pre-registrant'' or other term or code as specified by the state secretary. The designation shall be removed when the person, on or before the day of the next preliminary, primary, special or general election or town meeting, attains full age. No pre-registrant shall be allowed to vote until the pre-registrant obtains full age unless otherwise permitted by law.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 47b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 47b - False Statements in Affidavit of Registration; Complaint and Summons; Examination of Qualifications

Section 47B. If at any time subsequent to the registration of a voter the registrars have probable cause to believe that the voter has made a false statement in his affidavit of registration, they may prepare a complaint setting forth the basis for their belief, and summon the voter to appear before them in the manner set forth in section forty-eight. They shall examine the voter and determine his qualifications to vote in the manner set forth in section forty-nine.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 47c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 47c - Central Registry of Voters; Agreement With Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc.

Section 47C. Subject to appropriation, the state secretary shall maintain a central registry of voters which shall contain, if provided by the registrars, the names, addresses and effective dates of registration of all registered voters in the commonwealth and which shall contain the name, date of birth, occupation, veteran status, nationality, if not a citizen of the United States, for street list purposes only, and residence on January first in the preceding year and in the current year, of every person three years of age or older in the commonwealth, and shall adopt regulations governing the operation of said central registry. The names and addresses contained in said central registry shall not be a matter of public record; provided however, that they shall be available to state party committees, statewide candidate committees, state ballot question committees, the jury commissioner, adjutant general and any other individual, agency or entity that the state secretary shall designate by regulation consistent with the purposes of this section, at a fair and reasonable cost not to exceed the cost of printing or preparing computer readable documents.  The state secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc. on behalf of the commonwealth that shall specify the terms and conditions of the commonwealth's membership in the Center. The agreement shall include terms providing for the periodic sharing of data between the central registry, the registry of motor vehicles and any other automatic voter registration agency as designated by the secretary, and the Center, including, but not limited to, voter names and addresses.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 48 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 48 - Complaint; Time for Filing; Summons and Service of Process

Section 48. Upon complaint signed and sworn to by a registered voter and filed with the registrars at least fourteen days in a city, or at least four days in a town, before a primary, election or town meeting, stating that the complainant has reason to believe and does believe that a certain person by him therein named has been illegally or incorrectly registered, and giving the reasons for such belief, the registrars shall examine into such complaint and, if satisfied that there is sufficient ground therefor, they shall summon the person complained of to appear before them at a certain place and time before the next primary or election or town meeting to answer to the matters set forth in the complaint, and the substance of the complaint and a copy of this section and of section forty-nine shall be set forth in the summons. Service of the summons shall be made by an officer qualified to serve civil or criminal process, not more than fourteen nor less than two days before the day named for appearance, by delivering in hand a copy of the summons to the person therein named, or by leaving it at his place of residence, or, if personal service cannot be made and the person's residence is unknown to the officer and cannot be ascertained by inquiry at the place of alleged illegal or incorrect residence or at any later residence of such person appearing on the register, then at such person's last residence, if any, known to the officer, or, if the person's last residence is unknown, at the last place appearing as his residence in the register. The officer shall return the summons to the registrars before the day named for appearance with the certificate of his doings endorsed thereon.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 49 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 49 - Examination of Persons Summoned; Status for Annual Register; Failure to Appear

Section 49. If a person summoned before the registrars to answer such complaint appears before them, they shall examine him on oath, and shall receive such other evidence which may be offered in regard to the matters set forth in the complaint and, if satisfied that he is properly registered as a qualified voter, they shall enter in the register a statement of their determination of the facts required for registration. If the registrars are satisfied that he is not a qualified voter, they shall strike his name from the register. If they are satisfied that, although he is a qualified voter in the city or town, he is illegally or incorrectly registered in a ward or voting precinct other than the ward or voting precinct in which he is required by section three to be registered, and have determined the ward or voting precinct in which he is so required to be registered, and his place of residence therein, they shall change his place of residence as given on the register accordingly. If a person duly summoned as aforesaid does not appear as directed in the summons and the complainant produces sufficient testimony to make out a prima facie case, the name of such person shall be struck from the register; but if such person appears before the registrars before the election or town meeting following and shows sufficient cause for his failure earlier to appear, the hearing shall be reopened and the matter decided on its merits, as determined from the evidence presented on both sides. The complainant and the person complained of may be represented by counsel, and all witnesses may be cross-examined.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 50 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 50 - Supplementary Registration

Section 50. Any legal resident of the commonwealth who was included in the definition of ''Specially qualified voter'' in section one of chapter fifty throughout the seven days immediately preceding the final time for registration under section twenty-six, or who becomes a citizen of the United States after the final time for registration under said section twenty-six, may appear before a registrar or assistant registrar of voters of the city or town of his legal residence, during regular business hours of any day following the final day for registration before a primary or election, as fixed by said section twenty-six, and, in accordance with this chapter, register as a voter; provided, however, that he so appears prior to four o'clock post meridian on the day preceding a primary, preliminary election or election.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 51 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 51 - Certificate of Supplementary Registration; Voting Thereon

Section 51. To every person registered under section fifty the registrars shall issue a certificate, similar to that provided for in section fifty-nine, entitled ''Supplementary Registration—Specially Qualified Voter'', and referring by chapter and section number to this section and section fifty. Upon presentation of such certificate to the presiding officer at the proper polling place, or, in the case of an absent voter, if such certificate is attached to the voting lists, such person shall have the same right to vote as any other registered voter. Except in the case of an absent voter, after such person has voted, the presiding officer shall attach the certificate to the voting list and it shall be considered a part thereof, and shall be returned to the registrars and preserved in accordance with law.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 51a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 51a - Confidential Registration Certificate

Section 51A. To every person whose affidavit of voter registration is not a public record, and whose name and address do not appear on the annual register pursuant to sections thirty-seven and forty-four, the registrars shall issue a certificate entitled ''Confidential Registration'', similar to that provided for in section fifty-nine. Upon presentation of such certificate to the presiding officer at the proper polling place or, in the case of an absent voter, if such certificate is attached to the voting lists, such person shall have the same right to vote as any other registered voter. Except in the case of an absent voter, after such person has voted, the presiding officer shall attach the certificate to the voting list and it shall be returned to the registrars. Any such certificate shall not be a public record and no person shall make any statement or give any information in regard thereto, except as required by law.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 52 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 52 - Duties of Registrars

Section 52. A registrar shall enforce regularity in all proceedings before him, maintain order in and about the place where a session is held, or applications for registration are received, and keep the access thereto open and unobstructed.