# Massachusetts S 531: An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections

Massachusetts S 531, An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Rebecca L. Rausch (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-01-15 (Accompanied a new draft, see S2911) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S531-194
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Massachusetts S 531
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Last action: 2026-01-15, Accompanied a new draft, see S2911
- Sponsor: Rebecca L. Rausch (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 23
- Subjects: Election Laws
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rebecca L. Rausch (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Adam Gómez (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Brendan P. Crighton (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Brian W. Murray (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Carmine Lawrence Gentile (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Danillo A. Sena (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Erika Uyterhoeven (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: James B. Eldridge (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Jason M. Lewis (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Joan B. Lovely (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: John J. Cronin (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Liz Miranda (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Lydia Edwards (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Manny Cruz (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Margaret R. Scarsdale (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Michael J. Barrett (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Michael P. Kushmerek (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Natalie M. Higgins (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Patricia D. Jehlen (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Paul W. Mark (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Robyn K. Kennedy (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Sal N. DiDomenico (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Simon Cataldo (Democratic), House

## Actions (5)

- 2026-01-15: Accompanied a new draft, see S2911 (Senate)
- 2025-12-08: Reporting date extended to Friday, January 30, 2026 (Senate)
- 2025-10-28: Hearing scheduled for 11/13/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 (legislature)
- 2025-02-27: House concurred (House)
- 2025-02-27: Referred to the committee on Election Laws (Senate)

## Bill text

- As Filed: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S531.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G.L. chapter 59, section 5, clauses seventeenth D and forty-first C in the town o… (passed house)
- H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading)
- H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)
- H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the town of Sudbury (signed)

## Sources
- [As Filed (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S531.pdf)

## Related
- [H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax aba…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4585-194)
- [H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5435-194)
- [H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5515-194)
- [H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194)
- [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
- [H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the t…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4755-194)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S531-194 (as of 2026-11-01).