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 3 - Nomination of Person Not Printed on Primary Ballot; Acceptance; Statement of Financial Interest

Section 3. A person whose name is not printed on a state primary ballot as a candidate for an office, but who receives sufficient votes to nominate him therefor, shall, not later than five o'clock post meridian of the thirteenth day after a regular state primary and the sixth day after a special state primary, file in the office of the state secretary a written acceptance of said nomination and a receipt from the state ethics commission verifying the fact that a statement of financial interest has been filed under chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B. A person whose name is not printed on a city or town primary ballot, but who receives sufficient votes to nominate him, shall, within six days from the aforementioned time and day, file a written acceptance of said nomination in the office of the city or town clerk. The name of any such person who fails to file such written acceptance, and such receipt if required, shall not be printed on the official ballot to be used at the ensuing election. When such acceptance has been filed, it may not thereafter be withdrawn. This section shall be construed to provide that written acceptance of such a nomination at a primary shall be filed as aforesaid within the time herein limited, by any such person whose nomination is finally determined after the expiration of the time so limited, otherwise his name shall not be printed on the ballot at the ensuing 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 4 - Conventions to Nominate Candidates; Dates

Section 4. No convention to nominate candidates shall be called for or held on a date earlier than four days after the holding of the caucuses for the choice of delegates thereto, and all such conventions shall be called for and held on a date not later than forty-eight hours prior to the hour for filing certificates of nomination as provided in section ten.
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 5 - Certificate of Nomination; Contents; Signatures; Filing; Written Acceptance of Candidate

Section 5. Every certificate of nomination shall state such facts as are required by section eight and shall be signed and sworn to by the presiding officer and by the secretary of the caucus or convention, who shall add to their signatures their residences. The secretary shall within the seventy-two hours succeeding five o'clock in the afternoon of the day upon which the caucus was held or the session of the convention terminated, and within the time specified in section ten, file such certificate at the place specified in section nine.
No such certificate of nomination, except for presidential electors, shall be received or be valid unless the written acceptance of the candidates thereby nominated shall be filed therewith.
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 7a - Nomination Papers for City Offices; Deadlines; Signatures; Certification and Checking

Section 7A. Except where otherwise provided by law, every nomination petition or other like paper of a candidate for a city office in a city wherein preliminary elections for the nomination of candidates for such office are held shall be submitted, on 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. In each case the registrars shall check each name to be certified by them on the nomination petition or other like paper and shall forthwith certify thereon the number of signatures so checked which are names of voters both in the city 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 petitions or other like papers.
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 9 - Certificate of Nomination and Nomination Papers; Certification of Candidate as Registered Voter; Acceptance Procedure

Section 9. Certificates of nomination and nomination papers for state offices shall be filed with the state secretary and he shall forthwith issue to the candidate or other person filing the same a certificate acknowledging the time and date of the receipt thereof. Certificates of nomination or nomination papers for city and town offices shall be filed with the city or town clerk. Any candidate, including a candidate for presidential elector, not required by section forty-eight of this chapter to file a certificate of party enrollment shall, on or before the last day provided by law for filing nomination papers, file a certificate from the registrars of voters of the city or town wherein such candidate is a registered voter, certifying that such candidate is a registered voter in such city or town. Said registrars shall issue such a certificate forthwith upon request of any such candidate so registered or of his authorized representative. No nomination paper shall be received or be valid unless the written acceptance of the candidate thereby nominated shall be filed therewith. No nomination paper or certificate of nomination of a candidate for public office, as defined by chapter 268B, shall be accepted by the state secretary nor be valid unless accompanied by a receipt from the state ethics commission verifying the fact that a statement of financial interest has been filed pursuant to the provisions of said chapter 268B. No nomination paper for statewide elective office shall be received or be valid unless accompanied by a receipt from the director of campaign and political finance verifying the fact that the candidate has filed with said director the statement required by subsection (a) of section one A of said chapter 55C. The name of a candidate who fails to file any statement within the time required by said section one A shall not appear on the state primary or state election 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 9a - Nomination Papers for Cities or Towns; Applicable Provisions

Section 9A. In any city or town which accepts this section, in a city by vote of the city council subject to the provisions of its charter, and in a town by vote of the town meeting, the following provisions shall apply with respect to nomination papers:—
The final date for obtaining blank nomination papers for nomination to city or town office shall be forty-eight week day hours prior to the hour on which nomination papers are required to be submitted to the registrars of voters for certification.
Each candidate shall file with the city or town clerk, prior to obtaining blank nomination papers, a statement containing his name and address, and the city or town office for which he intends to be a candidate.
No candidate for city or town office shall receive more blank nomination papers than will contain the number of signatures required to place his name in nomination, multiplied by five.
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 11 - Certificates of Nomination and Nomination Papers; Objections; Filing

Section 11. When certificates of nomination and nomination papers have been filed, and are in apparent conformity with the law, they shall be valid unless written objections are made. Such objections shall be filed, as to state offices, with the state secretary, and, as to city or town offices, with the city or town clerk in accordance with the provisions of chapter fifty-five B.
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 13 - Withdrawal of Nominated Candidates

Section 13. A person nominated as a candidate for any state, city or town office may withdraw his name from nomination by a request signed and duly acknowledged by him before a notary public, and filed with the officer with whom the nomination was filed, within the time prescribed by section eleven for filing objections to certificates of nomination and nomination papers and no such requests for withdrawals shall be received after such time has expired. A person nominated at a city or town preliminary election may withdraw his name from nomination in the same manner, within six days succeeding five o'clock in the afternoon of the day of holding such preliminary election. Unless otherwise provided by the city or town charter, such nominee shall be replaced by the candidate with the next highest number of votes in said preliminary, if such candidate receives a number of votes at least equal to the number of signatures required by law to place his name on the preliminary election 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 15 - Certificate of Nomination to Fill Vacancy; Contents; Acceptance

Section 15. When a nomination is made to fill a vacancy caused by the death, withdrawal or ineligibility of a candidate, the certificate of nomination shall, in addition to the other facts required, state the name of the original nominee, the fact of his death, withdrawal or ineligibility, and the proceedings had for filling the vacancy; and the presiding officer and secretary of the convention or caucus, or the chairman and secretary of an authorized committee, shall sign and make oath to the truth of the certificate, and it shall be accompanied by the written acceptance of the candidate nominated. Such certificate shall be filed with the state secretary in the case of state elections and with the city or town clerk in city or town 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 16 - Certificates of Nomination, etc.; Public Inspection; Preservation

Section 16. Certificates of nomination, nomination papers, objections thereto and withdrawals, when filed, shall, under proper regulations, be open to public inspection, and the state secretary and the city and town clerks shall preserve the same in their offices for one year.
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 17 - Blank Forms for Nominations

Section 17. The state secretary shall, upon application, provide blank forms for the nomination of candidates for all state offices; and he shall send blank forms for certificates of nomination for the office of representative in the general court to the clerk of each city and town for the use of any caucus or convention other than of political parties held therein for the nomination of candidates for that office. He shall likewise provide the clerks of towns wherein official ballots are used with blank forms for the nomination of candidates for town offices. In cities blank forms for the nomination of candidates for city offices shall be provided by the city clerk. The state secretary shall not supply candidates for town offices directly with blank forms for nomination. The city or town clerk shall not furnish blank forms for the nomination of candidates for city or town office to any person other than a candidate seeking such nomination or a person presenting the signed authorization of a candidate to secure said forms on his behalf. In no case shall any blank forms for such nominations be larger than eight and one half inches by fourteen inches, nor shall anyone be prohibited from making exact copies of such blanks provided by the secretary of state for the purpose of collecting signatures for such nominations, nor shall any such copies be rejected for certification or submittal to the secretary of state.
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 17a - Procedure

Section 17A. Upon the filing of a petition with the chairman of the state committee of a political party, signed by fifty enrolled members of such party within a senatorial district, such chairman shall call a convention of all the ward and town committees in said senatorial district for the purpose of endorsing candidates from among the enrolled members of the party for nomination for election to membership on the state committee from said senatorial district.
Said convention shall be held not later than the tenth day prior to the time provided for the filing of nomination papers for said membership, and shall be held in the ward or town within the senatorial district which cast the highest vote at the preceding biennial state election for the political party candidate for governor.
Said convention shall elect from among its members a chairman and a secretary and shall make suitable rules for the conduct of its business. Each ward and town committee represented at such convention shall be entitled to one vote and one additional vote for every fifteen hundred votes or major fraction thereof above the first fifteen hundred votes cast at the preceding biennial state election in such ward or town for the political party candidate for governor.
Every certificate of nomination of a candidate endorsed for nomination by such a convention shall state that the nominee has been endorsed by such convention, and shall include such facts as are required by section eight. Such certificate shall be signed, sworn to and filed with the state secretary as required by section five.
Each candidate endorsed by such a convention shall not later than the last day and hour for filing nomination papers for said membership file with the state secretary his written acceptance of the nomination, otherwise his name shall not be printed on the ballot as a candidate for member of the state committee for which he was nominated. Such candidate may not withdraw such acceptance.
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 18 - Proposed Amendments to Federal Constitution; Opinion of Voters Ascertained

Section 18. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth that the general court, when called upon to act upon a proposed amendment to the federal constitution, should defer action until the opinion of the voters of the commonwealth has been taken, as herein provided, relative to the wisdom and expediency of ratifying the same; therefore, if a proposed amendment to the federal constitution is duly submitted to the general court as provided in article five of the constitution of the United States, and is not ratified at the session at which it is submitted, there shall be submitted to all the voters of the commonwealth at the following state election, if such an election is to occur prior to the next regular session of the general court, otherwise at such special or regular state election as the general court may order, the question whether such ratification is desirable. The question shall be placed upon the official ballot in the following form: ''Is it desirable that the proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States (describing the same) be ratified by the general court?'' The votes cast shall be received, sorted, counted, declared and transmitted to the state secretary, laid before the governor and council, and by them opened and examined in accordance with the laws relating to votes for state officers so far as they are applicable, and the governor shall thereupon communicate to the general court the total number of votes cast in the affirmative and in the negative for the proposed amendment, and likewise the same totals arranged by senatorial and representative districts. This section shall not authorize the taking of the opinion of the voters more than once in respect to any such proposed amendment unless otherwise provided by the general court.
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 18a - Nonbinding Public Opinion Advisory Questions on Local Ballots

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

Section 19. On an application signed by twelve hundred voters in any senatorial district, or by two hundred voters in any representative district, asking for the submission to the voters of that senatorial or representative district of any question of instructions to the senator or representatives from that district, and stating the substance thereof, the attorney general shall upon request of the state secretary determine whether or not such question is one of public policy, and if such question is determined to be one of public policy, the state secretary and the attorney general shall draft it in such simple, unequivocal and adequate form as shall be deemed best suited for presentation upon the ballot. Upon the fulfilment of the requirements of this and the two following sections the state secretary shall place such question on the official ballot to be used in that senatorial or representative district at the next state election.
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 20 - Applications; Signatures; Identification; Certification; Submission

Section 20. The provisions of law relative to the signing of nomination papers of candidates for state office, and to the identification and certification of names thereon and submission to the registrars therefor, shall apply, so far as apt, to applications submitted under section nineteen. Petition forms for such applications submitted under section nineteen shall be made available for use on or before the fifteenth Tuesday preceding the final date for filing as provided in section twenty-one.
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 21 - Applications; Filing Deadline; Number of Questions; Resubmission

Section 21. Applications shall be filed with the state secretary not later than the first Wednesday of August before the election at which the questions are to be submitted. Not more than three questions under section nineteen shall be placed upon the ballot at one election, and they shall be submitted in the order in which the applications are filed. No question negatived and no question substantially the same shall be submitted again in less than three years.
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 22 - Instructions to Representatives; Necessity of Majority Vote

Section 22. No vote under the three preceding sections shall be regarded as an instruction under article nineteen of the bill of rights of the constitution of the commonwealth, unless the question submitted receives a majority of all the votes cast at that election.
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 22a - Signing Petitions; Forms; Receipt; Filing Date

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

Section 24. Primaries shall be subject to all laws relating to elections and corrupt practices therein, so far as applicable and except as otherwise provided in this chapter and in chapters fifty-four, fifty-five and fifty-six.
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 25 - Withdrawal of Nominations

Section 25. Withdrawals of nominations of persons to be voted for at primaries shall be subject to section thirteen, except that the date from which the time for filing withdrawals shall be computed shall be the last day for filing nomination papers for such primaries, and that the time shall be forty-eight hours in the case of a town primary.
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 29 - Designation of Primary Officers; Compensation

Section 29. The city or town clerk may designate two inspectors and two deputy inspectors, representing the two leading political parties, to serve at primaries, and from the whole body of election officers he may designate officers equally representing the two leading political parties to serve as tellers in any precinct or ward during part of the day for the purpose of receiving ballots, checking names, or canvassing and counting votes, such tellers to receive such part of a full day's compensation of election officers as the aldermen or selectmen may determine.
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 30 - Designation of Primary Officers; Wards or Towns

Section 30. In wards or towns where voting is by precincts at elections but by wards or towns at primaries, the city or town clerk shall designate which of the election officers shall serve as primary officers.
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 31 - Ineligibility to Act as Primary Officers

Section 31. A person shall not be ineligible to act as a primary officer because he is a candidate for delegate to a convention, or,, a candidate for or member of a ward or town committee.
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 32 - Ballots; Preparation; Number

Section 32. Ballots shall be prepared and provided, and the number thereof determined, in state and presidential primaries by the state secretary, in city and town primaries by the city or town clerk. Notwithstanding the provisions of section forty-five of chapter fifty-four or any other general or special law to the contrary, the state secretary may provide only paper ballots for a state or presidential primary in a city or town where a political party has enrolled fewer than five percent of the total number of registered voters, as of the most recent count submitted to the state secretary under section thirty-eight A before the decision to prepare said ballots must be made. No other ballots shall be received or counted, except that if ballots provided for a state or presidential primary are not delivered, or after delivery lost, destroyed or stolen, ballots similar as far as possible shall be provided by the city or town clerk and used at the primary. The number of ballots provided at a city or town primary shall not for any ward or town exceed one ballot of each party for each voter therein.
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 33 - Ballots; Color; Specimen Ballots

Section 33. Ballots for each party shall be printed on paper of a different color from that on which the ballots for any other party are printed. At least three facsimile copies of the ballot for each party, printed on colored paper, shall be provided for each polling place as specimen ballots.
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 34a - Absentee Ballots; Application; Forms; Envelopes; Preparation

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

Section 35. A cross (X) marked against a name shall constitute a vote for the person so designated except that no cross shall be required where the voter has inserted the name of the candidate for whom he intends to vote. A cross in the circle at the head of a group of candidates for a ward or town committee shall count as a vote for each candidate therein. A voter may vote for one or more candidates in any such group by marking a cross against the name of each such candidate, except that no cross shall be required where the voter has inserted the name or names of candidates for whom he intends to vote. If he votes for more candidates than the number to be elected, his vote shall not be counted.
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 35a - Use of Pasters or Stickers

Section 35A. Pasters, commonly called stickers, to be used at primaries shall not be more than one half inch in width and four and one half inches in length and shall be subject to the same restrictions with respect to names and residences of candidates and the size of the type in which the names shall be printed as are imposed by sections forty-one and forty-four of chapter fifty-four with respect thereto in the case of election ballots.
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 35b - Persons Nominated by Pasters or Write-Ins; Notice

Section 35B. The city or town clerk shall forthwith notify a person who appears to have been nominated by means of pasters or write-ins of the necessity of complying with section three.
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 36 - Delivery of Ballots, etc., at Polling Places; Posting Specimen Ballots

Section 36. The city or town clerk, before the opening of the polls on the day of the primary, shall deliver at the polling place to the warden or, if he is absent, to the clerk or, if both are absent, then to any inspector, ballot boxes, ballots, specimen ballots, voting lists, suitable blank forms and apparatus for canvassing and counting the ballots and making the returns, a seal of suitable device and a record book for each polling place. The presiding officer at each polling place shall, before the opening of the primary, conspicuously post in such polling place at least three specimen ballots, as provided in section thirty-three, for each party, which shall be kept so posted until the polls are closed.
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 37a - Absentee Ballots; Application; Unenrolled Voters; Recording Upon Voting Lists

Section 37A. A voter desiring to vote by absentee ballot in a primary shall specify on his application for the ballot the party with which he is enrolled or, if he is unenrolled, the party in whose primary he desires to vote. A city or town clerk shall not supply any voter with the absentee ballot of more than one party at any one primary. If an enrolled voter requests the ballot of a party other than the party in which the voter is enrolled, the clerk shall supply the voter with the absentee ballot of the party in which such voter is enrolled.
The officers processing absentee ballots shall cause to be recorded upon the voting lists to be used at the polling place the political party in whose primary the absentee voter has cast his ballot if he is unenrolled, or the officers charged with the casting of such absentee ballot at the polling place shall so record on the voting list the political party in whose primary the absentee voter has cast his ballot if he is unenrolled.
If the voter was unenrolled before selecting a party ballot, he shall continue to be unenrolled and shall be recorded as unenrolled in the current annual register of voters.
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 38 - Party Designation of Voters and Eligibility to Vote Under Party Enrollments; Certificate to Establish, Change or Cancel Enrollment

Section 38. No voter enrolled under this section or section thirty-seven shall be allowed to receive the ballot of any political party except that in which he is so enrolled; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in said section thirty-seven, a voter may, except within a period beginning at eight o'clock in the evening of the twentieth day prior to any primary and ending with the day of such primary, establish, change or cancel his enrollment by forwarding to the board of registrars of voters a certificate signed by such voter under the pains and penalties of perjury, requesting to have his enrollment established with a party or political designation, changed to another party or political designation, or cancelled, or by appearing in person before a member of said board and requesting, in writing, that such enrollment be so established, changed or cancelled. Except as otherwise provided in section twelve of chapter four, sections one and two of chapter fifty-two, and sections forty A and forty-eight of this chapter, such enrollment, change or cancellation shall take effect upon the receipt by said board of such certificate or appearance, as the case may be; provided, however, that no such enrollment, change or cancellation shall take effect for a primary during the twenty days prior to such primary; provided further, that a voter registered in a political designation that is not a political party as defined in section 1 of chapter 50 shall be considered unenrolled for the purpose of the primary and shall be eligible to receive a ballot of a political party of the voter's choosing. No voter enrolled as a member of one political party or political designation shall be allowed to receive the ballot of any other political party, upon a claim by him of erroneous enrolment, except upon a certificate of such error from the registrars, which shall be presented to the presiding officer of the primary and shall be attached to, and considered a part of the voting list and returned and preserved therewith; but the political party or political designation enrolment of a voter shall not preclude him from receiving at a city or town primary the ballot of any municipal party, though in no one primary shall he receive more than one party ballot.
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 38a - Enrolled and Unenrolled Voters; Precinct Count

Section 38A. The board of registrars of voters of every city or town shall submit to the state secretary a count for each precinct of the number of voters enrolled in each political party and each political designation and the number of unenrolled voters. The count shall be correct as of the last day to register voters under section twenty-six of chapter fifty-one before every regular state and presidential primary and biennial state election, and in an even-numbered year in which no presidential primary is held, also as of February first. The secretary shall receive the count in writing not later than ten days after each such date, and shall issue a report thereof.
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 39 - Counting Votes

Section 39. In counting votes when the ballots are removed from the ballot box, they shall first be sorted into piles, one for each party, and each pile shall be counted and sealed separately. Votes shall be counted only for nominations of the party on whose ballot they appear.
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 40 - Number of Votes Necessary to Nominate Candidate Not on Ballot

Section 40. No person who is a candidate at a primary for nomination for or election to a political office, if no candidate's name is printed on the ballot therefor, shall be deemed to be nominated or elected unless he receives a number of votes at least equal to the number of signatures which would be required by law to place his name on the ballot at such primary as a candidate as aforesaid.
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 40a - Petitions for Recounts

Section 40A. Petitions for recounts of the ballots cast at a primary of a political party may be signed only by registered voters enrolled in such political party on or before the last day to register to vote for the primary.
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 41 - Sections Applicable to Nominations at State Primaries

Section 41. Primaries shall be held for the nomination of candidates of political parties for all offices to be filled at a state election, except presidential elector. Sections forty-two to fifty-three A, inclusive, shall apply to such primaries.
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 42 - Primaries Held by Wards, Precincts or Groups of Precincts; Notice to State Secretary

Section 42. In cities or towns where the aldermen or selectmen determine the question of holding state primaries by wards, precincts or groups of precincts, they shall give notice of their determination to the state secretary on or before June first; except that in the case of primaries before special elections they shall give such notice at least twenty-one days before the primaries.
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 43 - Polls; Hours When Open

Section 43. The polls at every primary shall be open at least thirteen hours. Such hours shall be designated in cities by the aldermen or councillors, and in towns by by-laws or vote, or, in default of such by-laws or vote, by the selectmen. The polls shall in no case be kept open after eight o'clock in the evening. The polls shall not be closed before eight o'clock in the evening.
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 44 - Nomination Papers; Number of Signatures

Section 44. The nomination of candidates for nomination at state primaries shall be by nomination papers. In the case of the governor, lieutenant-governor, attorney general and United States senator, nomination papers shall be signed in the aggregate by at least ten thousand voters; in the case of the state secretary, state treasurer and state auditor, they shall be signed by at least five thousand voters. Such papers for all other offices to be filled at a state election shall be signed by a number of voters as follows: for representative in congress, two thousand voters; for councillor, district attorney, clerk of courts, register of probate, register of deeds, county commissioner, sheriff and county treasurer, one thousand voters, except that in Barnstable, Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampshire counties such papers for nomination to the office of clerk of courts, register of probate, register of deeds, county commissioner, sheriff and county treasurer shall be signed by five hundred voters; for state senator, three hundred voters; for representative in the general court, one hundred and fifty voters. In Dukes and Nantucket counties such papers for nomination to all offices within the county to be filled at any state election shall be signed by twenty-five voters. In no event shall the number of signatures required be more than the number of a candidate for the same office in the same electoral district or division to have his name placed on the ballot as provided for under section six.
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 45 - Nomination Papers; Contents; Signatures; Acceptance; Number of Candidates; Penalty Provisions

Section 45. Every nomination paper shall state in addition to the name of the candidate, (1) his residence, with street and number thereof, if any, (2) the office for which he is nominated, and (3) the political party whose nomination he seeks. This information, in addition to the district name or number, if any, shall be stated on the nomination papers before any signature of a purported registered voter is obtained and the circulation of nomination papers without such information is prohibited. The candidate may state, on one or more nomination papers, in not more than eight words, the public offices which he holds or has held. The statement shall clearly indicate that he is a former incumbent thereof if such is the case and, if he is an elected incumbent of an office for which he seeks renomination that he is a candidate for such renomination. If he is a veteran, as defined in section one of chapter thirty-one, the word ''veteran'' may be included in the eight word statement.
Signatures shall be subject to section seven.
A nomination paper shall be valid only in respect to a candidate whose written acceptance is thereon; provided, however, that a candidate for ward or town committee who accepts nomination for such office more than once shall withdraw from all but one such nomination paper or shall be disqualified.
No nomination paper for use in the nomination of candidates to be voted for at state primaries shall contain the name of more than one candidate.
Whoever knowingly subscribes falsely to a statement on a primary nomination paper shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
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 47 - Nomination Papers; Preparation; Availability

Section 47. Nomination papers for use in the nomination of candidates to be voted for at state primaries shall be prepared, and on request furnished, by the state secretary. Nomination papers for use in the nomination of candidates for all offices shall be available for use on or before the fifteenth Tuesday preceding the date for filing as provided in section forty-eight, except in the case of primaries before special elections. In no case shall any blank forms for such nominations be larger than eight and one half inches by fourteen inches, nor shall anyone be prohibited from making exact copies of such forms provided by the secretary of state for the purpose of collecting signatures for such nominations, nor shall any such copies be rejected for certification or submittal to the secretary of state.
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 49 - Nomination in Case of Withdrawal, Death or Ineligibility

Section 49. If a person nominated to be voted for at a state 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 the state committee, if the candidate is one to be voted for by all the voters of the commonwealth; and, in the case of candidates for nomination or election in a district, by the members of the ward and town committees in the wards and towns comprising the district.