reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 50 § 6a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 50 - General Provisions Relative to Primaries, Caucuses and Elections|Section 6a - Vacancies in Elective Offices Caused by Retirement; Notice

Section 6A. If an elected state, city, or town officer is to be retired on or before the next regular election by reason of superannuation before the completion of the term of office to which he was elected, thereby causing a vacancy in said office, such vacancy shall be filled at said regular election as provided by law for such office.  The retiring authority shall notify the county commissioners, mayor and aldermen in cities, or the selectmen in towns, as the case may be, of the impending retirement of such elected officer at least six months preceding the next state, city, or town election, as the case may be.
MA Gen L ch 50 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 50 - General Provisions Relative to Primaries, Caucuses and Elections|Section 7 - Ballot Boxes; Seals; Counting and Other Apparatus; Regulations

Section 7. A city or town clerk may make regulations consistent with law relative to the use of ballot boxes and seals, counting and other apparatus, the receiving of ballots and the counting and returning of votes.
MA Gen L ch 50 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 50 - General Provisions Relative to Primaries, Caucuses and Elections|Section 8 - Criminal Prosecutions; Presumptions

Section 8. In any criminal prosecution for the violation of any law relating to the listing of persons seventeen years of age and over and to the qualification or registration of voters, to voting lists or ballots or matters pertaining thereto, or to primaries, caucuses or elections or matters pertaining thereto, the presumption shall be that every proceeding or official act was valid, regular and formal; but evidence may be introduced either to rebut or support the presumption. As to an alleged election or primary, the testimony of the city or town clerk, and as to an alleged caucus, the testimony of the residing officer, secretary or clerk thereof, that such election, primary or caucus was held, shall be prima facie evidence that the same was regularly and duly held.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 1 - Qualifications of Voters

Section 1. Every citizen eighteen years of age or older, not being a person under guardianship or incarcerated in a correctional facility due to a felony conviction, and not being temporarily or permanently disqualified by law because of corrupt practices in respect to elections, who is a resident in the city or town where he claims the right to vote at the time he registers, and who has complied with the requirements of this chapter, may have his name entered on the list of voters in such city or town, and may vote therein in any such election, or except insofar as restricted in any town in which a representative town meeting form of government has been established, in any meeting held for the transaction of town affairs. Notwithstanding any special law to the contrary, every such citizen who resides within the boundaries of any district, as defined in section one A of chapter forty-one, may vote for district officers and in any district meeting thereof, and no other person may so vote. 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 he has removed his residence until the expiration of 6 months from such removal.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 1f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 1f - Persons Not Included in Register of Voters

Section 1F. A person who resides in the commonwealth and in the city or town where he claims the right to vote in an election at which electors of president and vice-president are to be chosen, but whose name is not included in the current annual register of voters of the city or town where he claims the right to vote, may qualify for voting only for such electors upon application to the registrars of voters of said city or town, not later than eight o'clock post meridian of the twentieth day preceding such election. Any form of written communication containing the name, age, citizenship, former residence and present residence of such person shall cause the registrars to make an investigation relative to the qualifications of such person to vote and, for the purpose of such investigation, the officer in charge of the police force of each city and town shall give the registrars such assistance as they may require. Upon determining that such person is qualified to vote under the provisions of this section, the registrars shall forward an absentee ballot to him and shall include his name on a list of persons qualified under this section which shall be sent to the city or town clerk. The provisions of sections ninety-four to ninety-six, inclusive, of chapter fifty-four shall apply to such ballots.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 2 - Name of Registered Voter Changed

Section 2. A registered voter who chooses to adopt a new name shall continue to be registered in his former name until June first of the following year at which time the voter shall be registered in his new name; provided, however, that if such voter appears in person prior to the close of registration for any preliminary, primary, or election to notify the registrars of such adoption of a new name, the registrars shall correct the current annual register so that such voter shall be registered in his new name.  If a voter does not choose to adopt a new name as a result of marriage, the registrars shall make no change in the name of such voter entered in the current annual register.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 3 - Place of Registration and Voting; Change of Residence

Section 3. For all elections and primaries held prior to June first in any year, a person shall be registered and may vote in the ward or voting precinct where he resided on January first of the previous year; provided, however, that any registered voter of a city or town who moves to any other precinct in said city or town may register to vote at his new address by making written application to the city or town clerk no later than the close of registration. A new resident of the city or town who changes his residence after having first registered in the city or town may also, upon like application, be registered at the new address. For all elections and primaries held on or after June first in any year, a person shall be registered and may vote in the ward or voting precinct where he resided on January first of that year; provided, however, that any registered voter of a city or town who moves to any other precinct in said city or town may register to vote at his new address by making written application to the city or town clerk no later than the close of registration. A new resident of the city or town who changes his residence after having first registered in the city or town may also, upon application, be registered at the new address. The city or town clerk shall forthwith notify each voter making any such written application that the same has been received and that he may vote, subject to the provision of this section regarding the close of registration, in the ward or precinct into which he has moved. The registrars may require that any such application be signed under the penalties of perjury.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 4a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 4a - Notifying Residents of Opportunity to Register

Section 4A. During the course of the annual listing of residents, the registrars shall notify residents of the opportunity to register as voters and shall provide residents with assistance in registering to vote. Said registrars may, for this purpose provide to such residents in the course of such listing, forms for affidavits of voter registration prescribed by the state secretary pursuant to section thirty-six, which registrants shall complete during the listing or by return mail. Said registrars shall in any event make such forms available upon request for all eligible residents who are not registered voters.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 6 - Street Lists

Section 6. Except in any city or town as to which it is otherwise provided by special law, the registrars on or before April fifteenth in each year, shall prepare lists containing the names and addresses of all persons seventeen years of age or older listed by them under section four for the current year. Such lists shall be arranged in cities by streets, and in towns by streets or alphabetically by the names of the persons listed, and in cities and in towns of over five thousand inhabitants according to the latest national census, by the smallest subdivision of the city or town for the purpose of voting. On or before June fifteenth in each year, the registrars in all cities and towns shall cause a sufficient number of such lists to be printed, typed or mimeographed so as to furnish, free of charge, such lists, upon request, to all duly organized political committees and to all political candidates of the various districts in which the city or town is located. Such lists shall be made available by the registrars to business organizations and other nonpolitical committees and organizations at a fee to be determined by said registrars, and any such person or authorized representative of an organization or committee obtaining such list shall sign a log, maintained by the city or town clerk, placing in such log their names and addresses.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 7 - Form, Contents and Distribution of Street Lists

Section 7. On the lists prepared under section six for delivery to public officers, the registrars shall name or designate all buildings used as residences, in their order on the street where they are located, by giving the number or other definite description of each building so that it can be readily identified, and shall place opposite to or under each number or other description of a building the name, date of birth, occupation and nationality if not a citizen of the United States, of every person who is listed under section four, and his residence on January first of the preceding year and of the current year. Every person so listed shall, if he is a registered voter, be so designated by an asterisk or other symbol. A copy of said lists containing the information required by this section shall be made available to the chairman of each city and each town committee. In cities and towns where the information on such lists is compiled on computer tapes, a copy of the tape or a set of mailing labels shall be made available to the chairman of each city or town committee at a reasonable price to be determined by the state secretary.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 8 - Persons Omitted From Lists; Certificate

Section 8. If a resident in a city or town, except one as to which it is otherwise provided by special law, who is required to be listed under section four as of January first, was not so listed, such person, in order to establish his right to be listed, shall present to the registrars before the close of registration a sworn statement that he was on said day a resident of such city or town. If the registrars are satisfied that such statement is true, they shall list him, and on his request shall give him a certificate thereof.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 10a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 10a - Statements by Innholders, Etc.

Section 10A. Every innholder licensed under any provision of chapter one hundred and forty and every keeper of a lodging house or public lodging house licensed thereunder, every multi-dwelling unit owner, and every administrator of a nursing home as defined by section one hundred and eight of chapter one hundred and twelve and of a rest home as defined by section seventy-one of chapter one hundred and eleven, shall deliver to the person performing the duties required by section four, on a suitable blank to be furnished him by said person a statement, signed under the penalties of perjury, showing the name and date of birth of every person three years of age or older on January first of said year whose place of residence on said January first was at such inn, lodging house, public lodging house, multi-dwelling unit, nursing home or rest home. For the purposes of this section, ''lodging house'' shall include fraternity houses and dormitories of educational institutions. For the purposes of this section, ''multi-dwelling unit'' shall mean condominiums of any size and any residential apartment complex consisting of more than eight rental dwelling units. In the case of a fraternity house or dormitory, the statement required to be delivered by this section shall be the responsibility of the person in charge of each said fraternity house or dormitory. In the case of the multi-dwelling unit, the owner or his designated representative at such place, or in the case of condominiums only, the president or principal officer of the condominium association, shall provide the required information.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 11 - Records Kept

Section 11. The registrars, except in any city or town as to which it is otherwise provided by special law, shall enter the name and residence of each person listed and certified under section eight in a book provided therefor.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 12 - Posting of Penalty Sections

Section 12. In all registration agencies and other government offices where voter registration is conducted, there shall be posted in a conspicuous place a legible copy of sections seven, eight and nine of chapter fifty-six. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of registrations under section forty-two A.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 14 - Death of Resident; Notice

Section 14. The city or town clerk or other officer having charge of the registration of deaths in each city or town shall, on the first day of every month, and also two days before every election, transmit to the registrars of voters a list of the names of all residents thereof eighteen years of age or older who died in the preceding month or since the date of the list previously transmitted, with a statement of the ward, street and number therein, if any, where such person resided at his death.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 14a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 14a - Assistance in Making Lists

Section 14A. In the making of lists under sections four to fourteen, inclusive, the registrars, except in the city of Boston, may, with the approval of the mayor or selectmen or the school committee, as the case may be, have the assistance of the police department, assessors, supervisors of school attendance, or other suitable officers or employees of the city or town or other qualified persons employed by them for the purpose, in visiting buildings and residences and performing the duties of assistant registrars in securing the information required by said sections.  In the making of lists under sections four to fourteen, inclusive, the registrars of the city of Boston may, with the approval of the mayor, have the assistance of the police department in visiting buildings and residences and performing the duties of assistant registrars in securing the information required by said sections.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 14b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 14b - Applicability of Chapter to Cities and Towns Governed by Special Law

Section 14B. In cities and towns in which the duty of listing residents for the purposes of determining their right to vote is performed by officers other than registrars or assistant registrars, the provisions of this chapter relative to registrars and assistant registrars shall apply to such officers when performing like duties in such cities and towns, except as otherwise expressly provided in any special law or in this section. Where in any special law April first is stated as the date as of which the legal residence of any person shall be determined, such residence shall be determined as of January first instead of April first, and if any provision of this chapter contains a date for the performance of an official act by a board of registrars, registrar or assistant registrar, and by special law a different date is fixed for the performance of such act in any city or town by the same or any other board or officer, the earlier of such dates shall in such city or town prevail over the later date.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 15 - Board of Registrars in Certain Cities and Towns; Appointment; Term of Office

Section 15. Except as provided in section seventeen, there shall be in every city, other than one having a board of election commissioners or an election commission, and in every town a board of registrars of voters consisting of the city or town clerk and three other persons who shall, in a city, be appointed by the mayor, with the approval of the aldermen, and in a town, by a writing signed by the selectmen and filed with the town clerk. When a board of registrars is first appointed, the registrars shall be appointed in February or March for terms respectively of one, two and three years, beginning with April first following. In February or March in every year after the original appointment, one registrar shall be appointed for the term of three years, beginning with April first following.  As the terms of the several registrars expire, and in case a vacancy occurs in the board of registrars of voters, the selectmen or the appointing authority shall so appoint their successors that as nearly as possible the members of the board shall represent the two leading political parties, as defined in section one of chapter fifty; provided, that a city or town clerk need not be enrolled in a political party; and provided further, that in no case shall an appointment be made as to cause a board to have more than two members, including the city or town clerk, of the same political party. Every such appointment shall be made in a town by the selectmen or the appointing authority from a list to be submitted to them by the town committee of the political party from the members of which the position is to be filled, containing the names of three enrolled members of such party resident in the town, selected by a majority vote at a duly called meeting, at which a quorum is present, of such committee; and every member of a board of registrars of voters shall serve until the expiration of his term and until his successor has qualified; provided, however, if the chairman of the town committee has not submitted such list to the selectmen or the appointing authority within forty-five days after a notification to said chairman by certified mail, the selectmen or the appointing authority shall make said appointment without reference to such a list.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 17 - Board of Registrars in Certain Cities; Appointment; Term of Office

Section 17. In every city, other than one having a board of election commissioners or an election commission, which, by vote of the city council, approved by the mayor, accepts the provisions of this section, or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, or which is now subject to similar provisions of law, there shall be a board of registrars of voters, consisting of four persons, who shall be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the board of aldermen. When a board of registrars is first appointed after the acceptance of the provisions aforesaid, two registrars shall be appointed in February or March following such acceptance for terms respectively of three and four years, beginning with April first next ensuing. The city clerk of such city shall cease to be a member of the board of registrars on April first, but the remaining two members of the existing board of registrars whose terms do not then expire shall continue to hold office for their respective terms of one and two years. In February or March of every year after such first appointments, there shall in like manner be appointed one registrar of voters for the term of four years, beginning with April first following. The board so constituted shall annually in April organize by electing one of its members as clerk, who shall perform all the duties of a city clerk when acting as clerk of the board of registrars.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 17a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 17a - Annual Training on State and Federal Election Laws and Regulations

Section 17A. In each municipality, the city or town clerk and a registrar or election commissioner, as designated by the board of registrars or the board of election commissioners, shall attend an annual training conducted by the office of the state secretary, and offered at no cost to the municipality or to the individual, on the applicable state and federal election laws and regulations. Upon completion of the training, the clerk, registrar or commissioner shall inform the board of registrars and election commissioners.
MA Gen L ch 51 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 51 - Voters|Section 18 - Political Representation by Board of Registrars

Section 18. In the original and in each succeeding appointment and in filling vacancies, registrars of voters shall be so appointed that the members of the board shall represent the two leading political parties, and in no case shall an appointment be so made as to cause a board to have more than two members, including the city or town clerk, of the same political party.