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 102 - Nomination Papers; Delivery to City or Town Clerk

Section 102. Not less than seven week days before the day upon which the caucuses are to be held and before five o'clock in the afternoon of the last day, the secretary of each city or town committee shall deliver to the city or town clerk the nomination papers filed with him.
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 103 - Nomination Papers; Correction of Errors

Section 103. If an error or informality is found in any nomination paper, it shall be forthwith returned to the secretary of the committee by whom it was filed, for correction; and if not corrected and again filed before five o'clock in the afternoon of the day following its return to said secretary, it shall be void.
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 104 - Objections to Nomination Papers

Section 104. Objections to nomination papers, and all other questions relating thereto, shall be considered in cities by the board of registrars, the city clerk and the city solicitor; and in towns by the board of registrars.
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 105 - Ballots; Provision by Cities or Towns

Section 105. Ballots for each political and municipal party, ballot boxes, voting lists, specimen ballots, blank forms and apparatus, seals and record books, shall be provided and treated in accordance with sections thirty-two to thirty-six, inclusive, so far as applicable, except that the chairman and secretary of the city or town committee, or, if they fail to do so, the city or town clerk, may determine the number of ballots to be provided for each ward or town, not exceeding one for each voter 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 106 - Form of Official Ballot

Section 106. On the back and outside of each ballot when folded shall be printed the words ''Official ballot of the (here shall be inserted the party name)'' followed by the number of the precinct and ward or the name of the town for which the ballot is prepared, the date of the caucus and a facsimile of the signature of the secretary of the political committee.
Ballots shall be printed on white paper, except as otherwise provided by law.
Names of candidates for caucus officers shall be arranged in groups in the order in which they are filed.
Against the name of a candidate for an elective or caucus office shall be printed the street and number, if any, of his residence.
A star (*) against a name shall indicate that a person is a candidate for re-election.
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 108 - Order of Business

Section 108. The order of business shall be as follows:
First, Any necessary preliminary business.
Second, Balloting until half past eight o'clock in the evening, when the polls shall be closed unless the caucus shall vote to keep them open until a later hour; but every voter waiting in line at the hour for closing the polls shall be allowed to vote.
Third, After the polls have been closed, any other business properly before 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 109 - Challenges

Section 109. If the right of a person offering to vote is challenged for any legal cause, and he takes the oath required by section seventy-six, the presiding officer shall require him, or some one in his behalf, to write his name and residence on the outside of the ballot offered, and before it is received the presiding officer shall add thereto the name of the person challenging and the cause alleged for the challenge. No officer or other person shall give any information in regard to a ballot cast by a challenged voter unless required by law so to do.
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 110 - Counting of Ballots; Announcement of Result; Sealing; Transmittal of Records

Section 110. Immediately after the polls have been declared closed, but not before, the ballots shall be counted in full view of the voters. When they have been counted and the result ascertained, the presiding officer shall make public announcement thereof in open meeting, and the clerk shall, in open meeting, enter in words at length in the record book, the total number of names checked on the voting list, the total number of ballots cast, the names of all persons voted for, the number of votes for each person, and the title of the office for which he was a candidate. The clerk shall forthwith make a copy of said record, certify, seal and transmit it to the city or town clerk. He shall then, before the adjournment of the caucus, and in the presence of those who counted the same, seal up all ballots cast, with the voting lists used, and a statement of any challenge made.
The warden and clerk shall endorse upon such package the name of the political party holding the caucus, its date, its purpose, and, if in a city, for what ward and precinct the ballots were cast. The warden shall forthwith transmit, by the officer detailed to attend the caucus, to the city or town clerk, the ballots cast, the voting lists, the ballot boxes, the ballot box seals, the counting apparatus, the copy of the records, and the record book.
The city or town clerk shall safely keep such sealed packages for ten days. If within said time ten voters entitled to vote in said caucus file with him a written request so to do, he shall preserve said ballots and voting lists for three months and shall produce them 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 111 - Voting Lists; Certified Copies

Section 111. The city or town clerk, upon written application signed by at least ten voters of a ward or town, for a copy of a list as checked, shall open the envelope containing the voting list used at any caucus in such ward or town and shall furnish to them a certified copy thereof as checked.
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 112 - Recount of Ballots

Section 112. If before five o'clock in the afternoon of the second day next succeeding the day of a caucus, ten or more voters of any town or ward shall sign, adding thereto their respective residences on January first of that year, and file with the city or town clerk a sworn statement that the records and returns made by the caucus officers of such town or ward are erroneous, specifying the error, or that challenged votes were cast by persons not entitled to vote therein, said city or town clerk shall forthwith transmit such statement to the registrars of voters with the sealed package containing the ballots and voting lists, and said registrars shall give written notice to the person affected, fixing a place and time, as early as may be, at which said ballots will be recounted, and at such place and time shall open the packages containing the ballots and voting lists and recount said ballots and determine the questions raised, and shall reject any challenged vote cast by a person found not to have been entitled to vote; and such recount shall stand as the true result of the vote cast in such caucus. 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 as in the case of the original certificate.
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 113 - Caucus Officers; Eligibility; Terms; Oaths; Duties

Section 113. At the caucus held for the choice of candidates for a city or town election there shall be chosen annually a warden, a clerk, and at least five inspectors, and, in wards having more than five precincts, such additional inspectors as the city committee of the political party whose caucuses are to be held may determine. They shall be voters of the ward or town where elected and members of the political party whose caucus is to be held. No person shall be eligible to the position of warden, clerk or inspector who is a state, county or city employee, or a member of a ward or town committee, and no person shall serve as a caucus officer at any caucus wherein he is a candidate for nomination to an elective office. Every caucus officer shall hold office for one year, beginning with the first day of the month succeeding his election, and until his successor is elected. He shall, before entering upon the performance of his duties, be sworn by the warden, clerk, or a justice of the peace, and a record thereof made upon the record book of such caucus. The respective duties of caucus officers shall be in general the same required of election officers at elections.
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 114 - Vacancies; Additional Officers

Section 114. A majority of the caucus officers present at a caucus may fill temporary vacancies and elect additional officers to serve in that caucus only. Such temporary officers shall be duly sworn. Permanent vacancies shall be filled by a majority vote of all the caucus officers.
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 115 - Appointment of Officers for First Caucus

Section 115. A city or town committee of a political party which has adopted the provisions of law for the use of official ballots shall, at least ten days before holding any caucus thereunder, appoint caucus officers in each ward, town, or voting precinct in cities and towns where caucuses are held in such precincts, to serve at the first caucus to be held thereafter.
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 116 - Caucus Officers in Newly Incorporated Cities or Cities Redivided Into Wards

Section 116. In a newly incorporated city, or upon a redivision into wards of a city to which said provisions apply, the caucus officers to serve in the first caucuses held in the next succeeding year shall be appointed by the city committee; and at such caucuses the regular caucus officers shall be chosen. Where additional polling places are provided, after the election of caucus officers, officers to act in such polling places shall be appointed by the 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 117 - Caucuses to Nominate Municipal Officers; Convention Delegates; Committees

Section 117. A caucus of the voters, or of a specified portion thereof in a ward of a city, or in a town, may be called and held for the nomination of candidates to be voted for at any city election, or at any election of town officers for which official ballots are used, or for the selection of delegates to a convention, or for the appointment of a committee. The proceedings of such caucuses shall be invalid unless at least twenty-five voters participate and vote therein. Except as provided in this section and in section one hundred and twenty-one, no caucus or meeting other than those of political parties shall be entitled to nominate a candidate whose name shall be placed on the official ballot, or to select delegates to a political convention for the nomination of a candidate whose name shall be placed on such ballot.
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 118 - Notice of Caucus; Chairman; Order of Business

Section 118. The notice for a caucus under the preceding section shall be written or printed, shall state the place where, and the day and hour when, said caucus is to be held, shall be issued at least seven days prior thereto, and shall be conspicuously posted in at least five places on lines of public travel, and, if practicable, in every post office within the city or town, or shall be published at least twice in one or more local newspapers. Said notice shall be signed by one or more voters of the ward, town or district for which the caucus is called, and shall designate by name or office the person who shall call such caucus to order, and he shall preside until a chairman is chosen. In his absence, the caucus may choose a temporary chairman. The first business in order shall be the organization of the caucus by the choice of a chairman, a secretary, and such other officers as the meeting may require. The persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected or nominated. The caucus may adopt regulations consistent with 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 119 - Elections by Ballot; Written Request

Section 119. Upon the written request of ten or more voters present at a caucus and entitled to vote therein, presented by a motion or otherwise to the presiding officer for the time being, at any time before the choice of the officer to which it relates, any candidate, delegate or member of a political committee, and unless the caucus votes otherwise, the chairman of the caucus, shall be elected by ballot. In balloting, the voting lists furnished under section sixty-two of chapter fifty-one shall be used as check lists.
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 120 - Preservation of Ballots and Voting Lists

Section 120. The secretary of a caucus held under the three preceding sections shall, at the written request of ten voters entitled to vote in the caucus, preserve all ballots cast and voting lists used therein for three months, and shall produce the same if required by any court, board, convention or other tribunal having jurisdiction 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 122 - Regional School District-Wide Elections; Applicable Provisions

Section 122. The following provisions shall apply to regional school district-wide elections:
(a) Any person who is a resident of a member community and is a registered voter in the community in which he resides shall be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot to be used in the district-wide election if he shall file with the district clerk nomination papers signed by the number of voters as provided in section six who are registered and qualified to vote in the regional school district in which he resides.
(b) The state secretary shall supply candidates with a certificate of nomination and nomination papers through the district clerk.
(c) Other provisions of this chapter and chapters fifty-four and fifty-six relative to state elections shall apply to regional school district elections.
(d) Every nomination paper of a candidate shall be submitted to the registrars of the city or town where the signers appear to be voters on or before five o'clock post meridian of the twenty-eighth day preceding the day on which it must be filed with the district clerk. Nomination papers shall be filed by the candidate with the district clerk on or before the eleventh Tuesday preceding the day of election. The district clerk shall certify a correct list of candidates to the state secretary on or before the tenth Tuesday preceding the day of election. If the state secretary does not receive said certified list of candidates, on or before said date, the names of candidates for the regional district school committee shall not be printed on the ballot. The district clerk shall receive the election results from the city and town clerks, tabulate the results and certify the winners.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 2 - Division of Cities and Wards Into Voting Precincts; Census; Effect Upon Formation of Congressional, Representative, Senatorial or Councillor Districts

Section 2. Each city shall be divided into convenient voting precincts, designated by numbers or letters and containing not more than four thousand inhabitants. Every ward shall constitute a voting precinct by itself, or shall be divided into precincts containing as nearly as may be an equal number of inhabitants, consisting of compact and contiguous territory entirely within the ward, and bounded, so far as possible, by the center line of known streets or ways or by other well defined limits that constitute block boundaries recognized by the United States bureau of the census. If a ward constituting one precinct contains more than four thousand inhabitants, the aldermen shall divide it into two or more voting precincts. They may so divide a ward or precinct containing less than four thousand inhabitants. Except as provided in section one, when new precincts are established, the new division shall take effect on the thirty-first day of December following the making thereof.
Notwithstanding any authorization or requirement of this chapter, any precinct established or remaining unchanged following the decennial federal census shall remain unchanged for the purpose of forming congressional, representative, senatorial or councillor districts based on said census until the formation thereof as aforesaid, and if such precinct is within a ward the territory of which in such formation is included in two or more congressional, representative, senatorial or councillor districts, shall remain unchanged for the purpose of electing such officers so long as such districts are required by the constitution to be used for such purpose.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 4 - New Divisions of Cities Into Wards, When Effective; Congressional Districts

Section 4. All regular municipal elections and primaries held in any city after it has been redivided into wards or into any districts for electing city officers shall be held in such city as redivided.
In the division of wards into voting precincts under this chapter, no voting precinct shall be so formed that it will be partly in one congressional district and partly in another congressional district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 5 - Maps or Descriptions of New Divisions; Publication and Posting

Section 5. When a ward has been divided into new voting precincts, or the voting precincts thereof have been changed, the aldermen shall forthwith cause a map or description of the division to be published, in which the new precincts shall be designated by numbers or letters and shall be defined clearly and, so far as possible, by known boundaries; and they shall cause copies thereof to be furnished to the registrars of voters, to the assessors, and to the election officers of each precinct so established. The aldermen shall cause copies thereof to be posted in such public places in each precinct of a ward so divided as they may determine or shall give notice by mail to each registered voter affected by such change of voting precinct.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 7 - Changes in Voting Precincts of Towns

Section 7. Upon its own initiative a board of selectmen of a town may, and upon direction of the town meeting of such town said board shall, make any change in the voting precincts of said town, in the same manner provided in section six and subject to the restrictions contained in section nine A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 7a - Dividing Precincts to Facilitate Voting; Applicable Laws

Section 7A. Any precinct in a town where town meeting members are elected may be divided for the sole purpose of facilitating voting therein. Every such division of a precinct shall be designated by the addition of a letter to the number designating such precinct, or of a number to the letter designating such precinct, as for example, precincts 1A, 1B and so on, or precincts A1, A2 and so on. The number of town meeting members representing such precinct immediately preceding such a division shall remain unchanged and such members shall be elected from the same territory until a general revision of precincts is made. Notice of every such division shall be given forthwith to the state secretary. Except as provided herein, all provisions of law relating to voting precincts and to polling places shall apply to such divisions. Within twenty days after such a division, the selectmen shall cause notice in writing to be given to each registered voter in any precinct so divided specifying the polling place to be used by such voter. A division of a precinct made hereunder shall take effect on the thirty-first day of December following the making thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 8 - Maps or Descriptions of New Precincts; Posting

Section 8. When a town has been divided into voting precincts or the voting precincts thereof have been changed, the selectmen shall post in the office of the town clerk and in at least three public places in each new precinct a map or description in which the new precincts shall be designated by numbers or letters, and defined clearly and, so far as possible, by known boundaries. They shall furnish copies thereof to the registrars of voters and the assessors of such town, and to the election officers of each precinct so established.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 9 - Discontinuance of Voting Precincts

Section 9. Any town of fewer than 6,200 inhabitants may discontinue its voting precincts; and subsequent elections therein shall be held as if no such division had been made. Any such discontinuance shall be subject to the second paragraph of section nine A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 9a - Redivision Into Precincts or Districts; Elections Thereafter; Census

Section 9A. All regular municipal elections and primaries held in any town after it has been redivided into precincts or into any districts for electing town officers shall be held in such town as redivided.
Any precinct established or remaining unchanged following the decennial federal census shall remain unchanged for the purpose of forming congressional, representative, senatorial or councillor districts based on said census until the formation of the districts aforesaid, and, if such precinct is in a town the territory of which in such formation is included in two or more congressional, representative or senatorial districts, shall remain unchanged for the purpose of electing such officers as long as such districts are required by the constitution to be used for such purpose.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 10 - Changes in Wards; Notice to State Secretary

Section 10. When wards of a city have been changed or when voting precincts in a city or town have been established, changed or discontinued, the city or town clerk shall forthwith give a written notice thereof to the state secretary, stating the number, designation and official description of such wards or voting precincts and in a city the wards where such precincts are situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 11 - Election Officers in Certain Cities

Section 11. Subject to section eleven B, the mayor of every city, except where city charters provide otherwise and except as provided in sections eleven A and thirty-six, shall annually not earlier than July fifteenth nor later than August fifteenth appoint as election officers for each voting precinct, one warden, one deputy warden, one clerk, one deputy clerk, four inspectors and four deputy inspectors, who shall, at the time of their appointment, be enrolled voters in the commonwealth, except as otherwise provided in section 11B; provided, however, that the state secretary shall establish a waiver system to allow a city to request permission to appoint fewer election officers than specified in this paragraph. The persons so appointed shall be enrolled voters in the commonwealth, except as otherwise provided in section 11B. He may, in like manner, appoint two inspectors and two deputy inspectors in addition, and such additional inspectors as he may deem necessary, not less than two nor more than four for each three hundred voters, to count and tabulate the votes or to serve at any election. Every such appointment shall be filed in the office of the city clerk of such city within forty-eight hours after it is made, and shall be acted on by the aldermen not less than three days after the filing of such appointment and on or before September first following. After said September first, the mayor, with the approval of the aldermen, may, from time to time, appoint temporary additional inspectors to count and tabulate the votes. Records of appointments made under authority of this section shall be open to public inspection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 13 - Party Representation; Term of Office; Removal

Section 13. Such election officers shall be enrolled voters so appointed as equally to represent the 2 leading political parties, except that, without disturbing the equal representation of such parties, not more than 1/3 of the election officers not representing either of them may be appointed. The warden shall be of a different political party from the clerk, and not more than one half of the inspectors shall be of the same political party. In each case the principal officer and his deputy shall be of the same political party. The preceding party representation requirements of this section apply only if the chairman of the city or town committee of each political party or the chairman of the state committee of such party files with the registrars lists of enrolled members of the party who desire appointment as election officers in accordance with the provisions of sections eleven B and twelve. Except as otherwise provided in sections eleven and twelve, every election officer shall hold office for one year, beginning with September first succeeding his appointment, and until his successor is qualified, or until his removal; provided, that election officers appointed to count and tabulate votes shall serve at such primaries or elections and at such times as shall be designated by the appointing authority. An election officer may be removed by the mayor, with the approval of the aldermen, or by the selectmen, after a hearing, upon written charge of incompetence or official misconduct preferred by the city or town clerk, or by not less than six voters of the ward, or, in a town, of the voting precinct where the officer is appointed to act.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 14 - Vacancies; Appointment

Section 14. For any primary or election, if the city or town clerk determines in writing that there is a deficiency in the number of required election officers within the 6 weeks preceding the primary or election, the appointing authority may appoint election officers without regard to political party membership, voter status, residence in the city or town or inclusion on a list filed by a political party committee pursuant to sections 11B and 12. If the position of warden, clerk or inspector, or deputy of any such officer, if any, is vacant within the 3 weeks preceding any primary or election, the city or town clerk may fill the vacancy by appointing a competent person willing to serve, without regard to political party membership, voter status, residence in the city or town or inclusion on a list filed by a political party committee pursuant to said sections 11B and 12.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 15 - Eligibility of Candidates

Section 15. No person shall, at a state, city or town election, be eligible or act as an election officer in a voting precinct where he is a candidate for election; and if a person appointed an election officer becomes such a candidate, and does not forthwith resign his office, the mayor or selectmen, if he is a candidate at a state election, shall remove him from office before November first, or, if a candidate at a city election, the mayor shall so remove him at least eight days before the day of the election, or if a candidate at a town election the selectmen shall remove him before the election. Neither a town moderator nor any member of a board of selectmen shall be eligible or act as an election officer in a state or presidential primary, or state election.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 16 - Deputies; Duties

Section 16. If a warden, clerk or inspector is absent at the opening of the polls or subsequently on the day of election, or if the office is vacant, the deputy of such officer shall act for that election in his place. If the warden and deputy warden, clerk and deputy clerk, or an inspector and his deputy, shall be absent, the voters of the precinct on nomination and by hand vote shall fill the vacancy, and the officer so elected shall act during the remainder of the election; but otherwise no deputy officer shall act in an official capacity or be admitted to the space reserved for election officers while the polls are open or during the counting of the votes.
In cities where no deputy warden or deputy clerk is appointed, if a warden or clerk is absent at the opening of the polls or subsequently on the day of election, or if the office is vacant, the senior inspector of the same political party as such warden or clerk shall act as warden or clerk for that election, and the voters of the precinct, on nomination and by hand vote, shall fill the vacancy in the office of inspector.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 16a - Vacancies; Appointments to Fill

Section 16A. In any city or town which accepts this section, if the warden, clerk or inspector, or the deputy of any such officer, if any, is not present at the opening of the polls, the city or town clerk may appoint a person to fill such vacancy who shall be an enrolled voter of the same political party as the absent officer, if any competent person enrolled in such party is present and willing to serve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 17 - Ballot Clerks; Duties

Section 17. At state elections in cities and in towns, and in city elections, the presiding election officer of each voting place or precinct shall detail two inspectors of different political parties to act as ballot clerks, who shall have charge of the ballots and shall furnish them to voters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 23 - Supervisors of Elections; Political Party Representation; Violations

Section 23. Upon the written petition of ten qualified voters of a ward or of a town, presented at least twenty-one days before a state or city election therein, the governor may appoint, for such ward or town for each voting precinct named in the petition, two voters of the city or town, who shall not be signers of the petition or members of any political committee or candidates for any office, to act as supervisors at such election. One supervisor shall be appointed from each of the two leading political parties. They shall be sworn by the city or town clerk or by an officer qualified to administer oaths. The supervisors shall attend the polling places for which they are appointed, may challenge persons offering to vote, and shall witness the conduct of the election and the counting of votes; but they shall not make any statement tending to reveal the state of the polls before the public declaration of the vote. They shall remain where the ballot boxes are kept after the polls are open and until the ballots are sealed for transmission to the officers entitled to receive them. Each supervisor may affix his signature, for the purpose of identification, to the copy of the record of votes cast, or attach thereto any statement touching the truth or fairness or conduct of the election. Supervisors shall receive such compensation as the city council or selectmen may determine.
Any supervisor appointed under this section violating any provision of this section, or any person who prevents any such supervisor from doing any of the acts authorized by this section, or hinders or molests him in doing any such acts, or aids or abets in preventing, hindering or molesting him in doing any of such acts, 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 54 - Elections › Section 24 - Designation of Polling Places

Section 24. The aldermen in cities, except where city charters provide otherwise, and the selectmen of towns divided into voting precincts, shall, twenty days at least before the biennial state or annual or biennial city election and ten days at least before any special election of a state or city officer therein, designate the polling place for each voting precinct and cause it to be suitably fitted up and prepared therefor. In a city or town which has provided voting booths such booths may be placed in the public ways of such city or town, provided said ways are left reasonably safe and convenient for public travel. It shall be in a public, orderly, and convenient portion of the precinct; provided, however that if the aldermen or selectmen determine that the public convenience would be better served, the aldermen may designate a polling place in an adjacent precinct of a city, and the selectmen may designate a polling place in another precinct of a town or may house all polling places in a single building within the town. In any city or town, if the polling places for two or more precincts are located in the same building and the total number of registered voters in any such two or more precincts does not exceed three thousand, only one set of election officers need be appointed for such precincts, but separate ballot boxes and voting lists for each precinct shall be used. If, in a town of five precincts or less, all of which are located in one building, the selectmen so vote, only one warden need be appointed to supervise all such precincts, and the number of inspectors shall be determined by the selectmen, without disturbing the balance between the political parties. There shall, however, be one clerk appointed for each such precinct. Alcoholic beverages shall not be sold in any portion of a building which is designated as a polling place, during voting hours or while ballots are being counted therein. When the polling places have been designated in the city of Boston, the board of election commissioners of said city may post in such places as it may determine a printed description of the polling places designated and may give further notice thereof; and when the polling places have been designated in any other city or in any town, the aldermen of such city in at least five public places in each precinct thereof, and the selectmen of such town in at least three public places in each precinct thereof, shall forthwith post a printed description of the polling places designated and may give further notice thereof. When a polling place in a voting precinct is changed from one location to another, the board of election commissioners in the city of Boston, the aldermen in any other city or the selectmen in any town shall cause printed descriptions of such polling place to be posted in such public places in such precinct as they determine and shall give notice by mail to each residence of one or more registered voters therein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 25 - Marking Shelves and Guard Rails

Section 25. The aldermen or selectmen shall cause each polling place in their respective cities and towns to be provided with a sufficient number of suitable marking shelves or compartments where voters may conveniently and secretly mark their ballots; and they shall cause a guard rail to be so placed that only persons inside thereof can approach within six feet of the ballot boxes or of the marking shelves or compartments, or of the voting machines if any are used. The ballot boxes, marking shelves or compartments and voting machines, if any are used, shall be in view of persons in the polling place outside the guard rail. The number of marking shelves or compartments shall be not less than one for every seventy-five voters at such polling place, and not less than five in any voting precinct of a city, and not less than three in any town or voting precinct thereof, except that, where voting machines are used, only one such marking shelf or compartment need be provided, which shall be for the use of challenged voters. Every marking shelf or compartment shall at all times be provided with proper supplies and conveniences for marking the ballots. Where voting machines are used, one voting machine shall be provided at each polling place for every four hundred voters, or the major part thereof, entitled to vote therein.
Where electronic voting systems are used, if the system requires the use of a special marking unit, such units shall be supplied to a number of not less than one for every one hundred and twenty-five voters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 26 - State Ballot Boxes; Furnishing

Section 26. The state secretary shall, at the expense of the commonwealth, provide every city and town for use at every precinct or division of a precinct therein under the provisions of section seven A with a state ballot box approved by the state secretary in accordance with section thirty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 27 - Blank Forms and Envelopes for Returns; Injury, Tampering, or Destruction; Penalties

Section 27. The state secretary shall provide every city and town with suitable blank forms and envelopes for all certificates, copies of records and returns required to be made at his office, with such printed directions thereon as he may deem necessary; and such other blank forms and suggestions and instructions, as will assist the election officers in the performance of their duties. The clerks of the courts of the several counties shall in like manner provide cities and towns with suitable blank forms and envelopes for all certificates, copies of records and returns required to be made to the county commissioners and boards of examiners.
Whoever wilfully or maliciously injures, tampers with or destroys a ballot box or any of the blank forms or apparatus furnished to a city or town under this section or section twenty-six shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 28 - Care, Custody and Repair of Ballot Boxes, Counting Apparatus, and Voting Machines

Section 28. The clerk of each city or town shall provide therein a place for the safe keeping of the ballot boxes and counting apparatus furnished by the commonwealth, and of voting machines used in such city or town. He shall have the care and custody thereof, and see that they are kept in good order and repair. The custody, care and repair of all such voting machines, ballot boxes and apparatus shall be at the expense of the city or town, but shall be subject to the supervision and control of the state secretary, who may, at the expense of the commonwealth, subject to approval as provided in section thirty-two, cause necessary improvements to be made in any of such voting machines, ballot boxes or apparatus.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 30 - Voting Place or Precinct Seals; Use and Custody

Section 30. The city or town clerk shall furnish to the clerk of each voting place or precinct a seal of suitable device with a designation thereon of such voting place or precinct; and such seal shall be used in sealing all envelopes or other containers required by law to be used at elections. The clerk of the voting place or precinct shall retain custody of the seal, and shall, at the end of his term of office, deliver it, with the records of the voting place or precinct and other official documents in his custody to the city or town clerk.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 30a - Custodians of Voting Machines; Duties; Eligibility

Section 30A. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section thirteen, where voting machines are used the city or town clerk or election commissioners shall appoint in writing one or more custodians of voting machines, who shall assist him or them in the preparation and upkeep of voting machines, shall instruct the election officers in the use of said machines, and shall perform their duties under the supervision of the city or town clerk or election commissioners. If a voting machine requires adjustment during the course of an election, a custodian shall, if requested to do so by the warden, make such repairs or adjustments as may be required to return the voting machine to operating condition, and for this purpose may enter within the guard rail in any polling place, but he shall not make any such adjustments or repairs except in the presence of not less than two election officers of the precinct, who shall be designated by the warden so as to give equal representation to the two leading political parties. No person holding an appointment as an election officer under section eleven shall be appointed a custodian under this section. No person shall be appointed or act as a custodian in a voting precinct where he is a candidate for election, nor shall such person be permitted to perform any work in advance upon a voting machine to be used in such a precinct.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 54 - Elections › Section 31 - Sending Ballot Boxes, Blank Forms, and Counting Apparatus to Polls; Installation of Voting Machines; Voters' Authority Certificates

Section 31. Every city and town clerk shall send to the election officers at each polling place, before the opening of the polls on the day of an election or meeting at which the same are required to be used, the ballot box, blank forms and counting and other apparatus.
Where voting machines are used the city or town clerk on or before the day of election and before the hour fixed for the opening of the polls shall provide for the installation of the machines in the polling places. He shall send to the election officers before the polls are opened on election day blank forms and other necessary supplies, including voters' authority certificates, not less than one for each registered voter, in a form approved by the state secretary. Each voter's certificate shall be so prepared as to be capable of being inserted by the election officer after receiving it from the voter in a suitable container to be furnished by the board or officer responsible for the conduct of the election. The city or town clerk shall also forward to the election officers before the polls are opened an amount of official absent voting ballots to be used in the event all of the voting machines require repair or adjustment during the course of an election. All such ballots cast shall be marked ''cast due to machine failure'' in large type on the back of each ballot. Election officials at such voting place shall indicate on their official voting list those voters using said marked ballots.