reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 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 50 - Vacancies Caused by Withdrawal; Nominations to Fill; Objections

Section 50. In cases of withdrawal, nominations to fill vacancies shall be filed with the state secretary within seventy-two week day hours succeeding five o'clock in the afternoon of the last day for filing withdrawals.
They shall be open to objections in the same manner, so far as practicable, as other nominations.
No vacancy caused by withdrawal shall be filled before the withdrawal has been filed.
2023 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 52 - Canvass and Return of Votes; Certification and Notification of Nominees

Section 52. Upon receipt of the records of votes cast at state primaries, the city or town clerk shall forthwith canvass the same and within four days after said primary make return of the votes for candidates for nomination for state offices to the state secretary, who shall forthwith canvass such returns, determine the results thereof, notify the successful candidates, and certify to the state committees the names of the persons nominated for state offices. Said secretary shall also forthwith notify a person who has received sufficient votes by pasters or write-ins to be nominated of the necessity of complying with the requirements of section three.
2023 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 53 - Vacancies Caused by Ties; Filling

Section 53. In case of a tie vote where the number of persons receiving equal votes exceeds the number of nominations available, there shall be deemed to be a vacancy. If the tie is between candidates for an office to be filled by all the voters of the commonwealth, the vacancy shall be filled by the state committee. If the tie is between candidates for nomination for any other office, the vacancy shall be filled by the members of the ward and town committees in the district for which the nomination is to be made.
All vacancies caused by ties shall be filled only by the choice of one of the candidates receiving the tie vote.
2023 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 53a - Objections to Nominations; Withdrawals by Nominees

Section 53A. When nominations at the state primaries are in apparent conformity with law, they shall be valid unless written objections are made thereto in accordance with the provisions of chapter fifty-five B. A person nominated at such primaries may withdraw his name from nomination by a request signed and duly acknowledged by him and filed with the state secretary within the time prescribed in said chapter fifty-five B for filing objections to such nominations.
2023 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 55 - Primaries for City and Town Nominations; Objections; Withdrawals

Section 55. The nomination of candidates of political and municipal parties to be voted for at city and town elections, in cities and towns where such nominations are permitted by law, and which vote that primaries shall be held therein, shall be made under sections twenty-three to forty, and fifty-six to sixty-four, both inclusive.
The provisions of section fifty-three A relative to filing objections to nominations at state primaries and to the withdrawal of names from nomination shall apply in the case of nominations at city or town primaries, except that such objections or withdrawals shall be filed with the city or town clerk.
2023 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 56 - Primaries for Nomination; Submission of Question; Notice of Result to State Secretary

Section 56. In any city or town which has adopted the provisions of law for nominating by primaries, the following question shall be put on the official ballot at any city election or annual town meeting on petition of five per cent of the voters registered at the time of the preceding city election or annual town meeting, filed with the city or town clerk on or before the last day for filing nomination papers: ''Shall primaries for the nomination of candidates to be voted for at city (or town) elections continue to be held in this city (or town)?'' In any city or town not nominating by primaries, where such nominations are permitted by law, the following question may, by similar petition, be put on the ballot at the next city election or annual town meeting: ''Shall primaries for the nomination of candidates to be voted for at city (or town) elections be held in this city (or town)?'' In accordance with the result of such vote, such primaries shall or shall not thereafter be held.
Clerks of cities or towns which vote to hold primaries or to rescind such action shall forthwith notify the state secretary of such vote.
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 petitions under this section and to the identification and certification of names thereon.
2023 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 57 - Notices of Intention to Participate in Primaries

Section 57. Notices of intention to participate in primaries shall be furnished to the city or town clerk, not later than the thirtieth day prior to the day on which the primaries are to be held, by the city and town committees of such political and municipal parties as are entitled to and desire to participate therein.
2023 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 58 - Blank Nomination Papers; Contents

Section 58. The city or town clerk shall seasonably prepare, and the city or town shall provide, blank nomination papers for use in the nomination of candidates to be voted for at city or town primaries. Such papers shall state the place where, and the day and hour prior to which, nomination papers shall be filed. The city or town clerk shall not furnish such papers to any person other than a candidate seeking nomination or a person presenting the signed authorization of a candidate to secure said papers on his behalf.
2023 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 59 - Nominations on Blank Nomination Papers; Signatures; Acceptance

Section 59. Nominations of candidates for elective offices, to be voted for at a primary, shall be made by nomination papers, as hereinafter provided. Such nominations shall be made on the blank nomination papers prepared in accordance with the preceding section; and no nomination paper offered for filing shall be received or be valid to which is attached any card, paper or other device containing the name of a candidate, his written acceptance, or the signature of any voter required by this section. Such papers shall be signed by at least five voters of the ward or town where the primary is to be held, who shall add to their signatures the street and number, if any, of their residences. Such papers for a district composed of more than one ward shall be signed by a number of voters equal in the aggregate to not less than five voters for each ward in said district. In towns, nomination papers shall not contain a larger number of names of candidates than there are persons to be elected. In cities, nomination papers shall not contain the name of more than one candidate. No vacancy caused by the death, withdrawal or ineligibility of any candidate shall be filled, unless the person entitled to fill such vacancy files the written acceptance of the candidate who is nominated to fill the vacancy.
2023 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 60 - Nomination Papers; Contents

Section 60. Section forty-five shall apply to nomination papers for city and town primaries, except that in towns such nomination papers may contain the names of candidates for any or all of the offices to be filled at the town election, but the number of names of candidates on such paper for any one office shall not exceed the number to be elected thereto.
2023 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 61 - Nomination Papers; Filing; Certification; Correction of District

Section 61. All nomination papers of candidates to be voted for at city or town primaries shall be filed with the city or town clerk not less than thirty-five days previous to the day on which the primary is to be held for which the nominations are made. Every such nomination paper shall be submitted at or before five o'clock in the afternoon of the fourteenth day preceding the day on which it must be filed to the registrars of the city or town where the signers appear to be voters, and the registrars shall check each name to be certified by them on the nomination paper and shall forthwith certify thereon the number of signatures so checked which are names of voters both in the city or town and in the district for which the nomination is made and only names so checked shall be deemed to be names of qualified voters for the purposes of nomination. The registrars need not certify a greater number of names than are required to make a nomination, increased by one fifth thereof. Names not certified in the first instance shall not thereafter be certified on the same nomination papers. The city or town clerk shall not be required, in any case, to receive nomination papers for a candidate after receiving papers containing a sufficient number of certified names to make a nomination, increased by one fifth thereof.
The registrars shall inform the candidate submitting such papers if the designation of the district only in which he seeks office is incorrect, and shall give said candidate the opportunity to insert the correct designation on such papers before the signatures are certified. The registrars shall, if the candidate so desires, allow a change of district on the nomination papers, and the registrar and the candidate shall both initial the change of district so made and further shall in writing explain the change of district causing three copies to be made, one each for the registrar and candidate and one to be attached to the nomination papers. If the correct district designation is not so inserted, the nomination papers shall not be approved. In no case may a correction be made to change the office for which such candidate is nominated.
There shall not be printed on the ballot at a city or town primary the name of any person as a candidate for nomination for any office to be filled at a city or town election unless such person has been an enrolled member of the political party whose nomination he seeks throughout the ninety days prior to the last day for submitting primary nomination papers to the registrars of voters prior to said primary, or is a newly registered voter of the city or town enrolled in the political party.
2023 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 62 - Death, Withdrawal, or Ineligibility of Candidates; Filling Vacancies

Section 62. If a person nominated to be voted for at a city or town primary dies before the day of the primary, or withdraws his name from nomination, or is found ineligible, and there is no other candidate for the party nomination for the office, the vacancy may be filled by vote of the town committee in a town, by vote of the city committee if it occurs for an office to be filled by all the voters of a city, or by vote of the ward committee if it occurs for an office to be filled by the voters of a ward. In cases of vacancies caused by withdrawal, nominations to fill such vacancies shall be filed with the town clerk within twenty-four week-day hours, by a certificate signed by the chairman and secretary of said committee, or if the vacancy occurs in a city, with the city clerk within forty-eight week-day hours, by a similar certificate, signed by the chairman and secretary of the city committee or of the ward committee, as the case may be. No vacancy caused by withdrawal shall be filled before the withdrawal has been filed. If there is a failure to make a nomination at a city or town primary by reason of a tie vote, the vacancy, if in respect to an office to be filled by all the voters of the city or town, shall be filled by vote of the city or town committee and, if in respect to an office to be filled by the voters of a ward, by vote of the ward committee; provided, that any such vacancy shall be filled only by the choice of one of the candidates receiving the tie vote.
2023 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 70b - Delegates to National Conventions; Election; Number

Section 70B. In any year in which candidates for presidential electors are to be elected, the selection of delegates and alternate delegates to national conventions of political parties shall be by that system adopted by the state committee, provided such system shall not include the placing of the names of delegates on the presidential primary ballot; and provided, further, that the distribution of delegates under any such system shall reflect the preference expressed by the voters on the presidential preference portion of the ballot at the presidential primary. The system adopted by the state committee shall be set forth in written rules and procedures covering all aspects of the delegate selection process and a copy of such rules and procedures shall be filed with the state secretary on or before October first of the year preceding the year in which presidential electors are to be elected. The number of district delegates and alternate district delegates, not less than two from each congressional district, and the number of delegates and alternate delegates at large shall be fixed by the state committee, who shall give notice thereof to the state secretary on or before the first Tuesday in January. At such primaries, members of the state, ward and town committees shall also be chosen as provided in chapter fifty-two.
2023 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 70c - Primaries by Wards, Precincts or Groups of Precincts; Notice to State Secretary

Section 70C. In cities and towns where the question of holding presidential primaries by wards, precincts or groups of precincts is determined by the aldermen or selectmen, they shall give notice of their determination to the state secretary on or before the third Wednesday in November in the year preceding the year in which presidential electors are to be elected.
2023 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 70d - Nomination Papers

Section 70D. Nominations of candidates for state, ward and town committee shall be by nomination papers which shall be prepared and, on request, furnished by the state secretary. Nomination papers for candidates for state committees shall be signed by at least fifty voters, and nomination papers for candidates for ward and town committees shall be signed by at least five voters.
The provisions of section forty-five shall apply to the nomination papers of candidates to be voted for at presidential primaries, except that only candidates for state committee may use the eight word statement allowed under the provisions of said section forty-five; provided, however, that a candidate for state committee may, if he is a veteran, as defined in section one of chapter thirty-one, use the word ''veteran''. The nomination papers of a candidate for state committee who is an elected incumbent thereof may also contain the statement ''Candidate for Re-election''. Nomination papers may contain the name of more than one candidate for members of ward and town committees.
2023 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 70f - Canvass of Returns; Notice; Certification; Certificates

Section 70F. Upon the receipt of the records of the votes cast at presidential primaries and within four days after said primary the city or town clerk shall forthwith canvass the same and make return of the votes for nomination for president, and for election as members of the state committee to the state secretary, who shall forthwith canvass such returns, determine the results thereof, notify the successful candidates, and certify to the state committees the names of the persons appearing on the ballots as candidates or potential candidates for president and the results of the vote therefor, and the names of the persons elected as members of state committees. Said clerks shall determine the results of the votes for members of ward and town committees, issue proper certificates thereof to the successful candidates and notify the chairmen of the city and town committees of the respective parties, and the chairmen of the state committees of the respective parties.
2023 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 70g - Filling Vacancies

Section 70G. In case of the death, withdrawal or ineligibility of a candidate for state committee, the vacancy may be filled as provided in section forty-nine.
In case of the death, withdrawal or ineligibility of a candidate for a ward or town committee, the vacancy may not be filled but members may be added as provided in section four of chapter fifty-two.
If there is a tie vote, as defined in section fifty-three, for members of the state committee it shall be filled by the ward and town committees of the district in which it exists.
If there is a vacancy in a ward or town committee caused by a tie or a failure to elect the number provided for in section nine of chapter fifty-two the members elected shall fill the vacancy.
All vacancies caused by ties shall be filled only by the choice of one of the candidates receiving the tie vote.
2023 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 70i - Delegates and Alternate Delegates to National Conventions; Voting for President on First Roll Call

Section 70I. If there is a roll call vote for president at the national convention of a political party, all delegates and alternate delegates whose selection is subject by party rule to the approval of a presidential candidate shall vote on the first such roll call for that presidential candidate unless released by such candidate.
2023 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 71 - Nomination at Caucuses

Section 71. In cities and towns which have not accepted the provisions of law relating to primaries for the nomination of municipal officers, political parties which nominate candidates for elective city or town offices shall do so by direct plurality vote in caucuses, except when city or town charters provide otherwise. All provisions of law relative to the preparation of nomination papers and ballots, to primaries and elections, to ballots cast at primaries and elections, and to recounts of such ballots, shall, so far as applicable, apply to such caucuses.
2023 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 72 - Regulations for City or Town Caucuses

Section 72. Each city or town committee may make reasonable regulations, consistent with law, relative to caucuses called by it and to determine membership in the party, and to restrain persons not entitled to vote at caucuses from attendance thereat or taking part therein. But no political committee shall prevent any voter from participating in a caucus of its party for the reason that the voter has supported an unenrolled candidate for political office.
2023 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 72a - Time for Holding City or Town Caucuses

Section 72A. Caucuses before regular city or town elections shall be held not later than the thirty-eighth day preceding such city or town elections, notwithstanding any contrary provision in any general or special law.
2023 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 73 - Caucuses Held by Precincts or Groups of Precincts; Notice

Section 73. If in a city, except Boston, or town wherein elections are held by precincts, the city or town committee of either of the two leading political parties shall file with the aldermen or selectmen, at least two weeks prior to the time of holding its caucuses, a notice that such party desires to hold its caucuses by precincts, or by groups of precincts in any ward, the aldermen or selectmen shall furnish a polling place in each precinct or group of precincts for the use of such party, as provided in section ninety-three, and the caucuses of such party shall be held accordingly.
2023 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 74 - Caucuses Relative to Special Elections

Section 74. Caucuses relative to a special election shall be held at such time and place and subject to such reasonable notice as the political committee whose duty it is to provide for holding the same may determine. Calls therefor shall be issued by the chairman and secretary of said political committee.
2023 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 75 - Calling of Caucuses; Notice

Section 75. Every caucus of a political party shall be called by a written or printed notice. No caucus or meeting of a political party not so called shall be recognized as valid under sections seventy-one to eighty-one, inclusive. The presiding officer at a caucus shall open it at the hour appointed therefor in the notice thereof.
2023 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 76 - Persons Entitled to Vote or Take Part in Caucuses; Oath; Challenges; Penalties

Section 76. Notices of caucuses shall apply to all members of the party calling them, and to them only. No person having voted in the caucus of one political party shall be entitled to vote or take part in the caucus of another political party within the twelve ensuing months; except that voting or taking part in the caucuses of any municipal party by any voter shall not affect his legal right to vote or to take part in the caucuses of any political party, for any other election, and having voted or taken part in the caucuses of a political party for any previous election, shall not affect his right to vote or take part in the caucuses of any municipal party, nor shall a voter who is enrolled under section thirty-seven or thirty-eight as a member of a political party be entitled to vote in the caucus of another political party held in a city while so enrolled. No voter, not hereinbefore disqualified, shall be prevented from voting or participating in any caucus if he takes the following oath, which shall be administered to him by the presiding officer of the caucus:
You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are a registered voter in this ward (or town) and have the legal right to vote in this caucus; that you are a member of the political party holding the same, and intend to vote for its candidates at the polls at the election next ensuing; and that you have not taken part or voted in the caucus of any other political party for twelve months last past.
Such voter may be challenged like any other voter. Any person whose right to vote is challenged for any cause recognized by law shall not be permitted to vote until he has taken the foregoing oath; and the clerk or secretary of the caucus shall make a record of the administration of said oath to every person taking the same, which record shall state whether or not said person voted. The record shall be returned with the proceedings of said caucus and shall be prima facie evidence in any court that such person took said oath and voted in said caucus.
A caucus officer or a voter violating any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
2023 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 77 - Balloting; Use of Voting Lists

Section 77. In balloting, the voting lists furnished under section sixty-two of chapter fifty-one shall be used as check lists, and no persons shall vote or take part in a caucus whose name does not appear upon said lists, unless he presents to the presiding officer of the caucus the certificate provided for by section fifty-nine of said chapter.
2023 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 79 - Certificate of Election; Notice of Nomination

Section 79. The presiding officer and secretary or clerk of each caucus shall within three week days after its final adjournment deliver or send to each caucus officer a certificate of his election, and to each candidate for an elective office a notice of his nomination.
2023 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 80 - Returns of Caucuses Where Direct Nominations Made; Tabulation of Results; Notice; Recounts

Section 80. Returns of all caucuses of political parties at which are made any direct nominations for a district comprising more than one ward, or where caucuses are held by precincts or by groups of precincts in any ward or town, shall be made in accordance with section one hundred and ten. Immediately upon receipt of such returns the city or town clerk shall tabulate and determine the results thereof, shall notify the successful candidates, and cause their names to be printed on the ballot to be used at the ensuing election. Recounts of ballots cast at such caucuses shall be made as provided in section one hundred and twelve.
2023 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 81 - Tie Votes in Direct Nominations; Filling Vacancies

Section 81. If there is a tie vote for any candidate of a political party nominated directly for any office, for a district comprising more than one ward, the regularly elected general or executive committee representing the party for the election district in which such vote has been cast shall fill the vacancy, but only by the choice of one of the candidates receiving such tie vote.
2023 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 82 - Polling Places Provided; Notice

Section 82. At least two weeks prior to the date on which caucuses are to be held, the chairman or secretary of the city or town committee shall notify the aldermen or the selectmen respectively of such date, and said aldermen or selectmen shall, at the expense of the city or town, provide polling places for said caucuses, in case of a city, not less than one for each ward; and shall, at least ten days prior to the date of said caucus, give said chairman or secretary notice of the places so provided.
2023 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 83 - Notice of Caucuses; Procedure

Section 83. Notice of caucuses, signed by the chairman and secretary, shall be issued by each city and town committee not less than seven days prior to the day on which they are to be held. The notices shall state the place where and the day and hour when the several caucuses are to be held. They shall be conspicuously posted in at least five places on the public ways, and, if practicable, in every post office in the city or town, or shall be published at least twice in one or more local newspapers. The hour fixed for calling the caucus to order shall not be later than eight o'clock in the evening. The notice shall designate by name or office the person who shall call such caucus to order, and he shall preside until a chairman is chosen. If he is absent at the time appointed, any member of the ward or town committee present shall call the caucus to order and preside until a chairman is chosen. The first business in order shall be the choice of a chairman, a secretary and such other officers as the meeting may determine. No person shall serve as a caucus officer at any caucus in which he is a candidate for a nomination to an elective office.
2023 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 85 - Tie Vote for Elective Office; Proceedings

Section 85. If a majority of caucus officers is not elected, or there is a tie vote for candidates for an elective office, the caucus shall at once proceed to another ballot unless some one present entitled to vote objects; in which case the caucus shall adjourn to any subsequent day. The hour and place shall, if practicable, be the same as that named in the call.
2023 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 86 - Ballots and Check Lists; Transmission to City or Town Clerk; Preservation

Section 86. The secretary of each caucus shall forthwith, after the ballots cast therein have been counted, transmit them, with the check list used at the caucus, to the city or town clerk, who shall preserve them for ten days. If during said time ten voters entitled to vote in said caucus shall file with said clerk a written request so to do, he shall preserve the ballots and voting lists for three months, and shall produce the same if required by any court having jurisdiction or authority over them.
2023 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 87 - Contested Elections or Nominations; Preservation of Ballots; Notice; Recount; Penalties

Section 87. If within three week days after any caucus a person who has received votes thereat for nomination or election to any office shall file a written statement with the city or town clerk, claiming an election or nomination or declaring an intention to contest the election or nomination of any other person, the clerk shall preserve the ballots for such nomination or office until the claim or contest has been finally determined. Upon receipt of such statement, the clerk shall immediately give written notice to the persons affected and to the chairman and secretary of the caucus, fixing a time within twenty-four hours thereafter and a place at which said ballots will be recounted. The chairman and secretary of the caucus shall, at said time and place, recount said ballots and determine the questions raised. Each candidate affected may be present during such recount, or may be represented by an agent appointed by him in writing. If it shall appear upon a recount that persons were nominated or elected other than those declared to have been nominated or elected, certificates of such change shall be made in the manner provided in section five as to an original certificate.
Any presiding officer, secretary or clerk of a caucus who wilfully neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
2023 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 88 - Calling of Caucuses

Section 88. All caucuses for the election of caucus officers, or for the nomination of candidates for any city of town office in any city or town wherein the laws relating to primaries have not been adopted, held by a political party which has adopted the provisions of law for the use of official ballots, shall be called and held as provided in sections eighty-nine to one hundred and sixteen, inclusive.
2023 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 89 - Adoption of Law for Official Ballots; Calling Caucuses; Notice

Section 89. Any city or town committee shall, at the written request of fifty voters, members of its party, call caucuses of said party to determine by ballot whether the provisions of law for the use of official ballots shall be adopted. The notice of said caucus shall state the purpose for which it is called, the place, the day, and the hour, not earlier than six o'clock and not later than half past seven o'clock in the evening, of holding said caucus. It shall be issued at least seven days prior to the day named therefor, and shall be published at least twice in one or more local newspapers, if any, and shall be posted in at least five public places in each ward or town. The polls shall be kept open at least one hour. If said caucuses shall vote to adopt said provisions, all caucuses of said political party in said city or town shall thereafter be called and conducted accordingly.
2023 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 90 - Revocation of Acceptance of Special Provisions; Notice

Section 90. A political party in a city or town which has accepted said special provisions may, not less than one year after the date of the caucus wherein such provisions were adopted, revoke such action at a caucus called and held in the manner provided in the preceding section. Upon the adoption of said provisions or upon the revocation of such adoption, the secretary of the city or town committee of such political party shall, within ten days thereafter, file a notice thereof with the state secretary and with the clerk of the city or town and the secretary of the state committee of the political party so voting.
2023 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 91 - Time of Holding Caucuses

Section 91. All such caucuses of a political party for the choice of candidates for a city or town election, except caucuses relating to a special election, shall be held on the same day in each city and town. The city or town committee shall fix the days for holding all caucuses mentioned in this section, and all calls for the same shall be issued by its chairman and secretary. No two political parties shall hold their caucuses on the same day. The party first filing a copy of the call for a caucus with the city of town clerk shall be entitled to precedence as to the day so fixed.
2023 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 92 - Notices of Caucuses; Contents

Section 92. Notices of caucuses in said cities or towns shall state the place where and the day and hour when nomination papers shall be issued; the place where and the earliest day and hour when such nomination papers may be filed, which time shall be not less than twenty-four week day hours succeeding three o'clock of the day fixed for issuing such papers; the place where and the day and hour prior to which such nomination papers shall be filed; and the day on which the several caucuses will be held, and shall be issued not less than eighteen days prior thereto.
2023 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 93 - Provision of Polling Places; Voting Lines

Section 93. At least two weeks prior to the day named for a caucus, the chairman or secretary of the city or town committee shall give notice of such date to the aldermen or to the selectmen, who shall, at least ten days prior to such date, notify the city or town committee of the places selected for holding the caucuses, and shall, at the expense of the city or town, provide polling places, in a city not less than one for each ward, and in cities and towns where elections or caucuses are held in voting precincts, one in each of such precincts, as the city or town committee shall designate, but not less than one for each ward, and furnish them with booths, registering ballot boxes, guard rails and the like, as they are arranged for state elections, also postage for mailing credentials and notices or certificates of nomination and election.
If twenty-five voters of a ward or of a town shall request in writing at least twelve days before any caucus of the political party to which they belong, the aldermen or selectmen shall so arrange the polling place of such ward or town as to allow voting to proceed in two or more lines at the caucus.
2023 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 94 - Notice by City or Town Committees

Section 94. At least seven days prior to the day named for a caucus, the city or town committee shall issue a notice that such caucus will be held, stating the place, the day and the hour of holding the same. The hour shall not be earlier than two o'clock in the afternoon nor later than half past seven o'clock in the evening. Such notices, and notices relative to the filing of nomination papers, shall be published at least twice in one or more local newspapers, if any.
2023 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 95 - Blank Nomination Papers; Contents

Section 95. The city or town shall provide, and the city or town clerk shall seasonably prepare, for each political party, blank nomination papers for use in the different wards of the city or in the town. Such papers shall state the place where, and the day and hour prior to which, signed nomination papers shall be filed. On the back of each, the first sentence of section seven, sections forty-five and sixty, and sections ninety-six to one hundred and one, inclusive, shall be printed. They shall be delivered only to the chairman or secretary of the political committee for whose use they have been prepared.
2023 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 96 - Nominations Made by Nomination Papers; Acceptance; Vacancies

Section 96. Nominations of candidates for elective city or town offices and for caucus officers to be voted for at a caucus, shall be made by nomination papers, as hereinafter provided. Such nominations shall be made on the blank nomination papers prepared and delivered in accordance with the preceding section; and no nomination paper offered for filing shall be received or shall be valid to which is attached any card, paper or other device, containing the name of a candidate, his written acceptance, or containing the signature of any voter required by this section. Such papers shall be signed in person by at least five voters of the ward or town where the caucus is to be held, and for a district composed of more than one ward shall be signed by a number of voters equal in the aggregate to not less than five voters for each ward in said district, and shall be subject to sections forty-five and sixty, except that the nomination paper of a candidate for caucus officer shall not contain the statement permitted by section forty-five. No vacancy caused by the death, withdrawal or ineligibility of any of the above candidates shall be filled, unless the person entitled to fill such vacancy files the written acceptance of the candidate nominated to fill the vacancy.
2023 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 97 - Nomination Papers; Sealing; Filing; Opening

Section 97. All nomination papers shall be sealed up and filed with the secretary of the city or town committee not less than ten week days previous to the day on which the caucus is to be held for which the nominations are made, and he shall endorse upon them the time when he received them. They shall not be opened until the time for their filing has expired, when the secretary, at his office, shall publicly open them and publicly announce the nominations therein made.
2023 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 98 - Correction of Errors; Notice

Section 98. The secretary of the city or town committee shall immediately give notice to the person filing the nomination paper of any error, irregularity or informality appearing therein, and such person may, within two week days after the time when the nomination papers were opened, correct the same, or said secretary may make such correction.
2023 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 99 - Proceedings in Cities When Papers Not Filed; Filling Vacancies

Section 99. If, in a city, nomination papers placing persons in nomination for all the offices to be filled at a caucus in any ward are not filed, the secretary of the city committee shall forthwith notify the chairman or secretary of the committee of such ward, who shall forthwith call a meeting of said committee, which may nominate candidates for all offices for which nomination papers have not been filed, and shall immediately file with the secretary of the city committee nomination papers signed by all the members of the committee who agree to the nominations therein made. In case of disagreement two sets of such nomination papers may be filed. If, at the expiration of two week days after the time at which nomination papers were opened, proper nomination papers have not been filed for all the offices to be filled, or upon any vacancy caused by death or otherwise, except a withdrawal, the chairman and secretary of the city committee may file nomination papers for such offices or vacancies.
2023 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 100 - Proceedings in Towns When Papers Not Filed

Section 100. If, in a town, nomination papers placing persons in nomination for all the offices to be filled at a caucus are not filed, or upon a vacancy by death or otherwise, except a withdrawal, the chairman or secretary of the town committee shall forthwith call a meeting of said committee, which shall have all the powers relative to the nomination of candidates conferred in the preceding section upon a ward committee and the chairman and secretary of a city committee.
2023 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 101 - Withdrawals; Filling Vacancies

Section 101. A person nominated by a nomination paper may, within forty-eight week day hours succeeding five o'clock in the afternoon of the day fixed for opening nomination papers, withdraw his name from nomination by a request signed by him in person and filed with the secretary of the city or town committee. Thereupon, the secretary shall immediately give notice of such withdrawal and of the provisions of this section to the person who filed such nomination paper, and such person may, within twenty-four week day hours succeeding five o'clock in the afternoon of the last day fixed for making withdrawals, present a new name on a nomination paper signed by himself in person; otherwise the chairman and secretary of the committee may file nomination papers for the vacancy. If at any time after the expiration of the time for filling vacancies it shall appear that a vacancy has been created by death, the chairman of the committee may file with the city or town clerk a new name to fill such vacancy; and if the time is sufficient therefor, the new name shall be printed upon the official ballot.