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 46 - Nomination Papers; Submission to Registrars; Certification; Correction of District; Number of Names

Section 46. Every nomination paper of a candidate for state office shall be submitted on or before five o'clock post meridian of the twenty-eighth day preceding the day on which it must be filed with the state secretary to the registrars of the city or town in which the signers appear to be voters; provided, however, that before special state primaries, every such nomination paper shall be so submitted on or before five o'clock post meridian of the seventh day preceding the day on which it must be filed with the state secretary, except that, for special elections for senator or representative in congress, every nomination paper shall be submitted to the registrars of the city or town where the signers appear to be voters at or before 5:00 p.m. of the fourteenth day preceding the day on which it must be filed with the state secretary, and certification of nomination papers of candidates shall be completed no later than the 72 weekday hours before the final hour for filing those papers with the state secretary. Every nomination paper of a candidate for president at the presidential primaries shall be submitted to said registrars on or before five o'clock post meridian of the fourteenth day before the final date for filing said papers with the state secretary and certification of said papers shall be completed no later than the seventh day before the final day for filing said papers with the state secretary. Nomination papers for candidates for state, ward, and town committees shall be submitted to said registrars on or before five o'clock post meridian on the eleventh day before the final day for filing with the state secretary and certification shall be completed no later than the fourth day before the final day for filing said papers with the state secretary. Each nomination paper shall be marked with the date and time it was submitted and such papers shall be certified in order of submission. Said 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 who are not enrolled in any other party than that whose nomination the candidate seeks, and only names so checked shall be deemed to be names of qualified voters for the purpose of nomination. The registrars shall place next to each name not checked symbols indicating the reason that name was disqualified. The certification of voters shall be signed by a majority of the board of registrars.
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 in the presence of the candidate whose name appears 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 of 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.
The provisions of section seven relative to the number of names to be certified and received, and, except as otherwise provided in this section, the provision relative to time of certification shall apply to such papers.
No person shall be a candidate for nomination for more than one office; but this shall not apply to candidates for membership in political committees.