Chapter 51

Section 1. Every citizen eighteen years of age or older, not being a person under guardianship or incarcerated in a correctional facility due to a felony conviction, and not being temporarily or permanently disqualified by law because of corrupt practices in respect to elections,…

Section 10A. Every innholder licensed under any provision of chapter one hundred and forty and every keeper of a lodging house or public lodging house licensed thereunder, every multi-dwelling unit owner, and every administrator of a nursing home as defined by section one hundred…

Section 11. The registrars, except in any city or town as to which it is otherwise provided by special law, shall enter the name and residence of each person listed and certified under section eight in a book provided therefor.

Section 12. In all registration agencies and other government offices where voter registration is conducted, there shall be posted in a conspicuous place a legible copy of sections seven, eight and nine of chapter fifty-six. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the c…

Section 14. The city or town clerk or other officer having charge of the registration of deaths in each city or town shall, on the first day of every month, and also two days before every election, transmit to the registrars of voters a list of the names of all residents thereof …

Section 14A. In the making of lists under sections four to fourteen, inclusive, the registrars, except in the city of Boston, may, with the approval of the mayor or selectmen or the school committee, as the case may be, have the assistance of the police department, assessors, sup…

Section 14B. In cities and towns in which the duty of listing residents for the purposes of determining their right to vote is performed by officers other than registrars or assistant registrars, the provisions of this chapter relative to registrars and assistant registrars shall…

Section 15. Except as provided in section seventeen, there shall be in every city, other than one having a board of election commissioners or an election commission, and in every town a board of registrars of voters consisting of the city or town clerk and three other persons who…

Section 16A. In every city except Cambridge and every town which accepts this section in the manner hereinafter provided, there shall be a board of election commissioners, hereinafter called the board, which, except as otherwise provided, shall have all the powers, rights, duties…

Section 17. In every city, other than one having a board of election commissioners or an election commission, which, by vote of the city council, approved by the mayor, accepts the provisions of this section, or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, or which is n…

Section 17A. In each municipality, the city or town clerk and a registrar or election commissioner, as designated by the board of registrars or the board of election commissioners, shall attend an annual training conducted by the office of the state secretary, and offered at no c…

Section 18. In the original and in each succeeding appointment and in filling vacancies, registrars of voters shall be so appointed that the members of the board shall represent the two leading political parties, and in no case shall an appointment be so made as to cause a board …

Section 19. If, upon written complaint to the mayor or to the selectmen, it shall appear, after notice and hearing, that the city or town clerk, when a member of the board of registrars, and two registrars are of the same political party, the mayor or selectmen, as the case may b…

Section 1F. A person who resides in the commonwealth and in the city or town where he claims the right to vote in an election at which electors of president and vice-president are to be chosen, but whose name is not included in the current annual register of voters of the city or…

Section 2. A registered voter who chooses to adopt a new name shall continue to be registered in his former name until June first of the following year at which time the voter shall be registered in his new name; provided, however, that if such voter appears in person prior to th…

Section 20. If there is a vacancy in the board of registrars caused by death, resignation or retirement or if a member of the board of registrars is unable to perform the duties of his office, or is, at the time of any meeting of said board, absent from the city or town, the mayo…

Section 21. Each registrar shall, unless sooner removed, hold his office for the term for which he is appointed and until his successor is qualified.

Section 22. The registrars in cities and towns may appoint assistant registrars for the term of one year, beginning with April first, unless sooner removed by the registrars, and they shall equally represent the different political parties. Assistant registrars shall be subject t…

Section 22A. In every city and town the registrars of voters may, before every election at which absent voting is permitted, appoint a sufficient number of absent registration officers who in addition to the registrars and the assistant registrars may attend persons claiming to h…

Section 23. The registrars, assistant registrars and absent registration officers shall, before entering upon their official duties, each take and subscribe an oath faithfully to perform the same. They shall receive such compensation as the city council or selectmen may determine…

Section 24. The registrars may cause the duties devolving upon a single registrar to be performed by one or two assistant registrars, and, if two are designated for such duties, they shall be of different political parties. The registrars shall make suitable regulations governing…

Section 25. Every person appointed as a registrar or assistant registrar who is not regularly employed by the registrars shall be a voter of the city or town where he is appointed. No person appointed as a registrar or assistant registrar shall hold an office in the city or town …

Section 26. As used in this section and section forty-two H, ''election'' shall include every state, city or town primary, preliminary election, election, or town meeting. The registrars, for the purpose of registering voters, shall hold such day and evening sessions as the town,…

Section 26A. (a) The state secretary, in consultation with the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the board of elementary and secondary education, shall establish a non-partisan high school voter challenge program and shall promulgate regulations to implement …

Section 28. Registrars shall hold a continuous session from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on the last day for registration established under section 26; provided, however, that a town having less than 1,500 voters may hold a session from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. …

Section 3. For all elections and primaries held prior to June first in any year, a person shall be registered and may vote in the ward or voting precinct where he resided on January first of the previous year; provided, however, that any registered voter of a city or town who mov…

Section 31. If the final day for registration of voters falls on Sunday or on a holiday, the preceding day shall be the final day for such registration.

Section 32. Registrars shall seasonably post or publish notices stating the places and hours for holding all sessions, including the final sessions preceding any election.

Section 33. Any registrar, at such places as may be appointed, and on the day and during hours designated for the purpose, may receive affidavits of registration, but all the actions of one registrar shall be subject to review and acceptance by the board. In cities, and in towns …

Section 33A. The state secretary shall create and maintain a secure online portal allowing a person to complete an affidavit of registration online. The registration shall be transmitted by the state secretary to the appropriate local registrar. The online affidavit shall use the…

Section 34. After eight o'clock in the evening of a day on which registration is to cease, the registrars shall not register any person to vote in the next primary or election, except that they shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to each person waiting in line at said hour o…

Section 35. Except in any city or town as to which it is otherwise provided by special law, registrars shall compare all omitted listings with the annual register of voters for the preceding year, and if it appears to their satisfaction that any of said omitted listings is that o…

Section 36. The state secretary shall prepare in sufficient quantity blank forms for affidavits of voter registration and shall supply those forms to all registration agencies. The forms shall include the contents required by federal law, including section 6 of the National Voter…

Section 37. The registrars, as soon as they have prepared the lists required by section four, shall prepare an annual register containing the names of all qualified voters in their city or town for the current year, beginning with January first, except the name of any person who …

Section 37A. The name and address of a voter that is not entered in the annual register pursuant to section 37 for 2 consecutive years and who during that time fails to vote in any election shall be maintained on an inactive voters list until such voter has failed to vote in two …

Section 38. The registrars shall, upon the personal application of a listed person for the correction of any error in their original lists, and whenever informed of any such error, make due investigation, and, upon proof thereof, correct the same on their books. When informed tha…

Section 4. (a) Registrars, assistant registrars, or boards having similar duties under any general or special law, except in the city of Boston, shall annually in January or February visit or communicate with the residents of each building in their respective cities and towns and…

Section 40. The registrars shall perform their duties in open session. They shall distinctly announce the name of every person registering to vote. Their records shall at suitable times be open to public inspection.

Section 41. The registrars shall preserve all written applications, complaints, certificates and affidavits received by them, and all other documents in their custody relative to listing and registration, for two years after the dates thereof; provided, however, that original aff…

Section 41A. The duties imposed by sections ten A and thirty-seven, respectively, upon registrars of voters shall be performed in Boston and in other cities not having registrars by the election commissioners or other persons or boards having the powers and duties of registrars, …

Section 42. Registration as a voter shall be by affidavit of registration made in conformity with the requirements of this chapter by any person at least 16 years of age or older. Except as provided in sections 42A and 65, every person whose name has not been entered in the annua…

Section 42A. Any person claiming to have the qualifications for voting in any city or town who, by reason of physical disability, is unable to appear in person to register may make application, in writing, to the registrars of voters of such city or town for registration in the m…

Section 42C. In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, voter education and voluntary registration sessions shall be held by the registrars, assistant registrars or election commissioners one day each year between the first day of April and the fifteenth da…

Section 42D. The registrars or election commissioners may hold registration sessions in any regional high school, college or university, in any city or town in the commonwealth where there are persons entitled to be registered in their city or town who are regularly gathered ther…

Section 42E. All public and independent colleges, universities, high schools and vocational schools shall make available affidavit of voter registration forms at all locations where students may register for classes. Such locations shall be published along with the annual course …

Section 42F. At every registration session held pursuant to this chapter, a registrar or assistant registrar shall receive affidavits of registration from registrants who reside in any other city or town of the commonwealth. The registrars shall forthwith transmit any such comple…

Section 42G. (a) Registration agencies required to provide voter registration services by section 1 of chapter 50 shall conduct voter registration in a manner that is as efficient, comprehensive and automated as practicable. Registration agencies shall transmit each completed aff…

Section 42H. Registrars of voters in cities and towns shall receive completed affidavits of voter registration from registration agencies, from individuals and organizations conducting voter registration, through the United States mail, through the online portal and by hand deliv…

Section 44. A person seeking to register shall complete an affidavit of voter registration form as prescribed in section thirty-six, and shall sign the affidavit under the penalty of perjury. A person registering as a voter may, at the same time, establish his enrollment in a pol…