reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 53 § 18a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 18a - Nonbinding Public Opinion Advisory Questions on Local Ballots

Section 18A. As used in this section ''governing body'' shall mean, in a city, the city council acting with the approval of the mayor subject to the provisions of the charter of said city, in a town having a town council, the town council, and in every other town the board of selectmen.  A nonbinding public opinion advisory question may be placed on the ballot for a regular municipal election in any city or town no later than the thirty-fifth day preceding such election: by vote of the city council of such city, with approval of its mayor where so required by the city charter; by vote of the board of selectmen of a town or by vote of the town council of a town having a town council or by vote of the annual town meeting; or in conformity with the following provision of this section:  A proposal to place a nonbinding public opinion advisory question on the ballot for a regular municipal election in any city or town may be presented to the governing body thereof on a petition signed by at least ten registered voters of the city or town. If such governing body shall not approve said petition at least ninety days before said election, then the question may be so placed on said ballot when a petition signed by at least ten per cent of the registered voters of the city or town, but in no case less than twenty such voters, requesting such action is filed with the registrars, who shall have seven days after receipt of such a petition to certify the signatures. Upon certification of the signatures, the city or town clerk shall cause the question to be placed on the ballot at the next regular municipal election held more than thirty-five days after such certification.  The procedures established by this section shall be available to any city or town; provided, however, that if an alternative procedure is prescribed by a home rule charter, optional plan of government, or special act applying to such city or town, relative to the placing of public opinion questions upon the local ballot, then such alternative procedure shall apply.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 19 - Questions of Public Policy Submitted in Certain Districts Upon Application

Section 19. On an application signed by twelve hundred voters in any senatorial district, or by two hundred voters in any representative district, asking for the submission to the voters of that senatorial or representative district of any question of instructions to the senator or representatives from that district, and stating the substance thereof, the attorney general shall upon request of the state secretary determine whether or not such question is one of public policy, and if such question is determined to be one of public policy, the state secretary and the attorney general shall draft it in such simple, unequivocal and adequate form as shall be deemed best suited for presentation upon the ballot. Upon the fulfilment of the requirements of this and the two following sections the state secretary shall place such question on the official ballot to be used in that senatorial or representative district at the next state election.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 20 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 20 - Applications; Signatures; Identification; Certification; Submission

Section 20. The provisions of law relative to the signing of nomination papers of candidates for state office, and to the identification and certification of names thereon and submission to the registrars therefor, shall apply, so far as apt, to applications submitted under section nineteen. Petition forms for such applications submitted under section nineteen shall be made available for use on or before the fifteenth Tuesday preceding the final date for filing as provided in section twenty-one.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 21 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 21 - Applications; Filing Deadline; Number of Questions; Resubmission

Section 21. Applications shall be filed with the state secretary not later than the first Wednesday of August before the election at which the questions are to be submitted. Not more than three questions under section nineteen shall be placed upon the ballot at one election, and they shall be submitted in the order in which the applications are filed. No question negatived and no question substantially the same shall be submitted again in less than three years.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 22 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 22 - Instructions to Representatives; Necessity of Majority Vote

Section 22. No vote under the three preceding sections shall be regarded as an instruction under article nineteen of the bill of rights of the constitution of the commonwealth, unless the question submitted receives a majority of all the votes cast at that election.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 22a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 22a - Signing Petitions; Forms; Receipt; Filing Date

Section 22A. The provisions of law relative to the signing of nomination papers of candidates for state office, and to the identification and certification of names thereon and submission to the registrars therefor, shall apply, so far as apt, to the signing of initiative and referendum petitions and to the identification and certification of names thereon, and, except as otherwise provided, to the time of their submission to the registrars. Initiative or referendum petition forms shall be made available no later than the fourteenth day after the date such petitions are filed with the state secretary by the first ten signers; provided, however, that in the instance of petitions filed under the provisions of section three or section four of that part of Article XLVIII of the Amendments of the Constitution under the heading ''THE REFERENDUM. III. Referendum Petitions.'', the petition forms shall be made available no later than the fourteenth day after a summary has been prepared. Registrars shall receipt in writing for each initiative or referendum petition submitted to and received by them, and shall deliver such petitions only on receiving written receipts therefor or other identification acceptable to the registrars. Each initiative and referendum petition shall state the last day and hour for filing such petitions with the registrars and with the state secretary. Certificates showing that each of the ten original signers is a registered voter at the stated address, signed by a majority of the registrars of voters, shall accompany an original initiative or referendum petition. In no case shall any blank forms for such initiative or referendum petitions be larger than eight and one half inches by fourteen inches, nor shall anyone be prohibited from making exact copies of such blanks provided by the secretary of state for the purpose of collecting signatures for such petitions, nor shall any such copies be rejected for certification or submittal to the secretary of state.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 23 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 23 - Sections Applicable to All Primaries

Section 23. Sections twenty-four to forty, inclusive, shall apply to all primaries, except as therein otherwise provided.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 24 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 24 - Applicability of Sections Relating to Elections and Corrupt Practices

Section 24. Primaries shall be subject to all laws relating to elections and corrupt practices therein, so far as applicable and except as otherwise provided in this chapter and in chapters fifty-four, fifty-five and fifty-six.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 25 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 25 - Withdrawal of Nominations

Section 25. Withdrawals of nominations of persons to be voted for at primaries shall be subject to section thirteen, except that the date from which the time for filing withdrawals shall be computed shall be the last day for filing nomination papers for such primaries, and that the time shall be forty-eight hours in the case of a town primary.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 29 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 29 - Designation of Primary Officers; Compensation

[ Section impacted by 2020, 45, Secs. 1 and 1A, as amended by 2020, 92, Secs. 1 to 3, effective March 23, 2020; 2020, 92 Secs. 15 to 17 effective June 5, 2020; 2020, 115, Secs. 6 and 12, effective July 6, 2020; and 2021, 5, Secs. 1 and 2, effective March 16, 2021 and 2020, 255, effective December 31, 2020 as amended by 2021, 5, Secs. 4 to 8, effective March 16, 2021 and 2021, 29, Secs. 51 to 55, effective July 29, 2021, relating to elections in order to address disruptions caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.]  Section 29. The city or town clerk may designate two inspectors and two deputy inspectors, representing the two leading political parties, to serve at primaries, and from the whole body of election officers he may designate officers equally representing the two leading political parties to serve as tellers in any precinct or ward during part of the day for the purpose of receiving ballots, checking names, or canvassing and counting votes, such tellers to receive such part of a full day's compensation of election officers as the aldermen or selectmen may determine.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 30 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 30 - Designation of Primary Officers; Wards or Towns

Section 30. In wards or towns where voting is by precincts at elections but by wards or towns at primaries, the city or town clerk shall designate which of the election officers shall serve as primary officers.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 31 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 31 - Ineligibility to Act as Primary Officers

Section 31. A person shall not be ineligible to act as a primary officer because he is a candidate for delegate to a convention, or,, a candidate for or member of a ward or town committee.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 32 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 32 - Ballots; Preparation; Number

Section 32. Ballots shall be prepared and provided, and the number thereof determined, in state and presidential primaries by the state secretary, in city and town primaries by the city or town clerk. Notwithstanding the provisions of section forty-five of chapter fifty-four or any other general or special law to the contrary, the state secretary may provide only paper ballots for a state or presidential primary in a city or town where a political party has enrolled fewer than five percent of the total number of registered voters, as of the most recent count submitted to the state secretary under section thirty-eight A before the decision to prepare said ballots must be made. No other ballots shall be received or counted, except that if ballots provided for a state or presidential primary are not delivered, or after delivery lost, destroyed or stolen, ballots similar as far as possible shall be provided by the city or town clerk and used at the primary. The number of ballots provided at a city or town primary shall not for any ward or town exceed one ballot of each party for each voter therein.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 33 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 33 - Ballots; Color; Specimen Ballots

Section 33. Ballots for each party shall be printed on paper of a different color from that on which the ballots for any other party are printed. At least three facsimile copies of the ballot for each party, printed on colored paper, shall be provided for each polling place as specimen ballots.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 34a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 34a - Absentee Ballots; Application; Forms; Envelopes; Preparation

Section 34A. Prior to each biennial or special state primary the state secretary shall prepare in such quantities as he may deem necessary the following papers:—  (a) Official absent voting ballots, similar in all respects to the official ballot to be used at such primary, on paper similar in color to the official ballot of the respective parties. Instructions for the use of said absentee ballots may be printed on the back of the ballots.  (b) Blank forms of application for such ballots, worded substantially as provided by section eighty-seven of chapter fifty-four, except that the application shall indicate that the ballot is to be used at the primary, and shall also indicate the party whose ballot the voter desires to obtain.  Any form of written communication evidencing a desire that an absent voting ballot be sent to him for use of voting at any regular or special state primary or any presidential primary, and specifying the party whose ballot he desires to obtain, shall be given the same effect as an application for an absent voting ballot made in the form prescribed by law.  (c) Envelopes conforming substantially to subsections (c) and (d) of section eighty-seven of said chapter fifty-four.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 35 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 35 - Cross Constituting as Vote

Section 35. A cross (X) marked against a name shall constitute a vote for the person so designated except that no cross shall be required where the voter has inserted the name of the candidate for whom he intends to vote. A cross in the circle at the head of a group of candidates for a ward or town committee shall count as a vote for each candidate therein. A voter may vote for one or more candidates in any such group by marking a cross against the name of each such candidate, except that no cross shall be required where the voter has inserted the name or names of candidates for whom he intends to vote. If he votes for more candidates than the number to be elected, his vote shall not be counted.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 35a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 35a - Use of Pasters or Stickers

Section 35A. Pasters, commonly called stickers, to be used at primaries shall not be more than one half inch in width and four and one half inches in length and shall be subject to the same restrictions with respect to names and residences of candidates and the size of the type in which the names shall be printed as are imposed by sections forty-one and forty-four of chapter fifty-four with respect thereto in the case of election ballots.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 35b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 35b - Persons Nominated by Pasters or Write-Ins; Notice

Section 35B. The city or town clerk shall forthwith notify a person who appears to have been nominated by means of pasters or write-ins of the necessity of complying with section three.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 36 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 36 - Delivery of Ballots, etc., at Polling Places; Posting Specimen Ballots

Section 36. The city or town clerk, before the opening of the polls on the day of the primary, shall deliver at the polling place to the warden or, if he is absent, to the clerk or, if both are absent, then to any inspector, ballot boxes, ballots, specimen ballots, voting lists, suitable blank forms and apparatus for canvassing and counting the ballots and making the returns, a seal of suitable device and a record book for each polling place. The presiding officer at each polling place shall, before the opening of the primary, conspicuously post in such polling place at least three specimen ballots, as provided in section thirty-three, for each party, which shall be kept so posted until the polls are closed.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 37a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 37a - Absentee Ballots; Application; Unenrolled Voters; Recording Upon Voting Lists

Section 37A. A voter desiring to vote by absentee ballot in a primary shall specify on his application for the ballot the party with which he is enrolled or, if he is unenrolled, the party in whose primary he desires to vote. A city or town clerk shall not supply any voter with the absentee ballot of more than one party at any one primary. If an enrolled voter requests the ballot of a party other than the party in which the voter is enrolled, the clerk shall supply the voter with the absentee ballot of the party in which such voter is enrolled.  The officers processing absentee ballots shall cause to be recorded upon the voting lists to be used at the polling place the political party in whose primary the absentee voter has cast his ballot if he is unenrolled, or the officers charged with the casting of such absentee ballot at the polling place shall so record on the voting list the political party in whose primary the absentee voter has cast his ballot if he is unenrolled.  If the voter was unenrolled before selecting a party ballot, he shall continue to be unenrolled and shall be recorded as unenrolled in the current annual register of voters.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 38 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 38 - Party Designation of Voters and Eligibility to Vote Under Party Enrollments; Certificate to Establish, Change or Cancel Enrollment

[Section impacted by 2020, 45, Secs. 1 and 1A, as amended by 2020, 92, Secs. 1 to 3, effective March 23, 2020, and 2020, 92 Secs. 15 to 17 effective June 5, 2020 and 2020, 115, Secs. 6 and 9, effective July 6, 2020 relating to elections in order to address disruptions caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.]  Section 38. No voter enrolled under this section or section thirty-seven shall be allowed to receive the ballot of any political party except that in which he is so enrolled; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in said section thirty-seven, a voter may, except within a period beginning at eight o'clock in the evening of the twentieth day prior to any primary and ending with the day of such primary, establish, change or cancel his enrollment by forwarding to the board of registrars of voters a certificate signed by such voter under the pains and penalties of perjury, requesting to have his enrollment established with a party or political designation, changed to another party or political designation, or cancelled, or by appearing in person before a member of said board and requesting, in writing, that such enrollment be so established, changed or cancelled. Except as otherwise provided in section twelve of chapter four, sections one and two of chapter fifty-two, and sections forty A and forty-eight of this chapter, such enrollment, change or cancellation shall take effect upon the receipt by said board of such certificate or appearance, as the case may be; provided, however, that no such enrollment, change or cancellation shall take effect for a primary during the twenty days prior to such primary; provided further, that a voter registered in a political designation that is not a political party as defined in section 1 of chapter 50 shall be considered unenrolled for the purpose of the primary and shall be eligible to receive a ballot of a political party of the voter's choosing. No voter enrolled as a member of one political party or political designation shall be allowed to receive the ballot of any other political party, upon a claim by him of erroneous enrolment, except upon a certificate of such error from the registrars, which shall be presented to the presiding officer of the primary and shall be attached to, and considered a part of the voting list and returned and preserved therewith; but the political party or political designation enrolment of a voter shall not preclude him from receiving at a city or town primary the ballot of any municipal party, though in no one primary shall he receive more than one party ballot.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 38a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 38a - Enrolled and Unenrolled Voters; Precinct Count

Section 38A. The board of registrars of voters of every city or town shall submit to the state secretary a count for each precinct of the number of voters enrolled in each political party and each political designation and the number of unenrolled voters. The count shall be correct as of the last day to register voters under section twenty-six of chapter fifty-one before every regular state and presidential primary and biennial state election, and in an even-numbered year in which no presidential primary is held, also as of February first. The secretary shall receive the count in writing not later than ten days after each such date, and shall issue a report thereof.
MA Gen L ch 53 § 39 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 53 - Nominations, Questions to Be Submitted to the Voters, Primaries and Caucuses|Section 39 - Counting Votes

Section 39. In counting votes when the ballots are removed from the ballot box, they shall first be sorted into piles, one for each party, and each pile shall be counted and sealed separately. Votes shall be counted only for nominations of the party on whose ballot they appear.