Code of Massachusetts Regulations
950 CMR - OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Title 950 CMR 54.00 - Voting And Counting Procedures For Electronic Voting Systems
Section 54.04 - During the Voting Hours
Current through Register 1537, December 20, 2024
(1) Declare Polls Open. The warden shall declare that the polls are open.
(2) Instruct Voter in Use of Equipment. Election officers at the demonstration unit shall ask the voter if he wishes to have instruction or a review of how to use the equipment.
(3) Who May Vote. Anyone whose name appears on the voting list is qualified to vote. The election officer shall check the supplementary voting list.
(4) Voter States Name and Address. The voter must announce his address and name to the election officer in charge of the check-in voting list.
(5) Look for the Name on the Voting List. The election officer shall find the name and shall repeat it loudly and clearly. If it is a primary, the officer shall announce the party as well.
(6) Name Dropped or Listed Incorrectly.
If the name, address, or party enrollment of a person claiming the right to vote appears on the voting list as an inactive voter, the presiding officer shall allow such inactive voter to vote upon written affirmation by the inactive voter of his current and continuous residence in the municipality, (or, at a state primary or state election, residence in the municipality within the previous six months,) signed under the penalties of perjury. Such written affirmation shall be attached to and be considered part of the voting list, returned and preserved therewith, and such inactive voter shall be restored to the active voting list at his current residence, without requiring further action by the person.
If the inactive voter has moved within the city or town, the voter will write the address at which he or she last registered to vote, as well as his or her current address. The inactive voter will vote at the polling place which corresponds to his or her address as it appears on the inactive voting list. After the election, if the voter has moved within the city or town, the voter shall be restored to the active voting list at his or her current address, without requiring further action by the person.
All inactive voters shall be asked to show suitable identification showing their name and current address. Inactive voters who fail to show suitable identification must be allowed to vote. However, an election officer shall, and any other person may, challenge their right to vote under M.G.L. c. 54, § 85 and 950 CMR 54.04(23). For the purpose of 950 CMR 54.04(6)(b) suitable identification shall be defined in 950 CMR 54.04(6B).
(6A) Escrow ballots. A person claiming the right to vote in a precinct, but who is not allowed to vote for any reason, must be allowed to mark an escrow ballot. Such persons include, but are not limited to, persons who are determined not to be entitled to vote under the certificate procedure of M.G.L. c. 51, § 59 and 950 CMR 54.04(6), voters whose names are already checked on the voting list as having voted, and voters who claim their recorded party enrollment is incorrect, thereby preventing their voting in a party primary. An election officer shall orally inform every such person of his right to mark an escrow ballot, of the procedure for doing so, and of the fact that the escrow ballot will not be counted unless the outcome is sufficiently close and the person is later determined to be entitled to vote; in the case of such persons determined at the polling place not to be entitled to vote under the certificate procedure, the election officer shall also inform such persons of their option to go to the registrars' office and to vote there under the certificate procedure if determined to be entitled to vote, otherwise to mark an escrow ballot there. In all cases, escrow ballots shall be marked according to the following procedure. An election officer shall write the word "escrow" on the punch-card envelope or optical scanner ballot, and the person shall add his or her name and address. The election officer shall administer to the person the challenged voter's oath in 950 CMR 54.04(23)(c). The person shall mark the ballot as usual, but it shall not be cast in the ballot box. An election officer shall instead place it in an envelope marked "escrow ballots," and shall note the event in the clerk's election record.
(6B) Identification. If so authorized by the city or town clerk or registrars of voters, an election officer may request any voter to present written identification. Such requests shall not discriminate in any way, but shall be entirely random, consistent, or based on reasonable suspicion. For the purpose of 950 CMR 54.04(6B), of M.G.L. c. 54, § 76B, and of 950 CMR 54.04(6)(b), suitable written identification includes a driver's license, recent utility bill, rent receipt on a landlord's printed letterhead, lease, duplicate copy of a voter registration affidavit, or any other printed identification which contains the voter's name and address. If voters fail to present suitable written identification when so requested, they must still be allowed to vote, but an election officer or any other person may challenge their right to vote under M.G.L. c. 54, § 85 and 950 CMR 54.04(23).
(7) Mark the Voting List. The election officer shall check the voter's name by marking it on the voting list. In a primary, the voter shall be given the ballot of the party in which he is enrolled. An unenrolled voter may choose the ballot of any party. An election officer shall place a D or R next to the voter's name to indicate the choice of party. At a presidential primary, election officers shall explain to voters who inquire that they may change their enrollment after voting by filling out a card available at the polls, which then must be transmitted to the city or town clerk.
(8) Hand the Voter a Ballot. As used in 950 CMR 54.00, the term "ballot" means:
(9) Instruction and Assistance to Voters.
(10) Write-Ins. A voter may cast a write-in or sticker vote in the space provided on the optical scanner ballot or on the punch-card ballot envelope for a person not listed on the ballot or in the booklet. The office for which the vote is cast must be included on the punch-card ballot envelope.
(11) Spoiled Ballots. If a voter spoils a punch card or envelope or an optical scanner ballot, the voter may return it and ask for another. Voters shall be allowed up to a total of three ballots.
(12) Spoiled Ballot Envelope. The voter shall return each spoiled punch card or envelope or optical scanner ballot to the ballot inspector who shall mark it "spoiled" and place it in the spoiled ballot envelope. A spoiled ballot shall not be placed in the ballot box.
(13) Voter Goes to Check-Out Table. Election officers in charge of maintaining the check-out voting list shall ask for the voter's name and address.
(14) Look for the Name on List. The election officer shall find the name on the list and shall repeat it loudly and clearly. If it is a primary, the officer shall announce the party as well.
(15) Mark Name on Voting List. The election officers shall check the voter's name by marking it on the voting list. In a primary, the officers shall mark a D or R next to the name of unenrolled voters, corresponding to the party ballot chosen by the voter.
(16) Tearing Off Stubs on Punch Card Ballots. Either an election officer shall instruct the voter how to tear off the stub, or the officer shall tear off the stub. If a ballot is to consist of more than one punch card, the election officer must tear off the stubs, and shall immediately count the number of stubs to ensure that it is correct; if a voter has already torn off the stubs, the officer shall examine the envelope to ensure that it contains the proper number of cards, without ascertaining how the voter has voted. In all cases, election officers shall ensure that the stub is bent down and then torn cleanly from the card.
(17) Placing Ballots in Ballot Box. If one side of the ballot card is blank, election officers shall ensure that the blank side of the ballot card shows through the envelope window for proper canceling. The voter shall place the ballot envelope with the exposed punch card strip face up into the opening of the ballot box. The ballot box clerk shall wind the ballot into the ballot box. In the case of optical scanner systems, the voter shall place the ballot in a ballot secrecy sleeve so that the tip of the ballot extends past the secrecy sleeve. The voter shall then feed the ballot through the vote tabulator and return the ballot secrecy sleeve to the election officer. Any separate sheet or sheets of paper on which ballot questions are printed under 950 CMR 50.06 shall not be placed in the ballot box, but may be disposed of in any manner.
(18) No One May Take a Ballot from the Voting Place.
(19) One Person Per Voting Booth. Only one person shall be allowed in a voting booth except in cases of assistance provided to a physically disabled or blind person or a person who cannot read or who cannot read English.
(20) Time Allowed. Voters shall be allowed five minutes to vote if others are in line and ten minutes if there are no voters waiting. If a line of voters forms, this rule should be enforced equally. If there is no line, election officers can be more lenient.
(21) Number of Voters Allowed. When all the voting booths are filled, no more than four waiting voters shall be permitted inside the guard rail.
(22) Candidates' and Their Workers' Rights and Restrictions.
(23) Challenges.
When asked by an election officer, the challenger shall be required to briefly set forth factual information specific and personal to the challenged voter as to the reasons that voter is not qualified to vote in the election at that precinct. If the election officer determines that the challenger has not provided sufficient factual information specific and personal to that voter demonstrating that the voter is not qualified to vote at that precinct, then the election officer shall reject the challenge on the grounds that the challenge was not based upon a legal cause.
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are the identical person whom you represent yourself to be, that you are registered in this precinct, and that you have not voted in this primary (or election)."
The warden shall require the challenged person to write his name and present residence on the outside of the punch-card envelope or the optical scanner ballot. (If it is an absentee ballot, the warden shall insert this information.) Where punch-cards are used, the warden shall write the precinct number, the letters "CV," and the number of the challenged voter on the punch-card envelope and ballot card, "CV1" on the first envelope and ballot card, "CV2" on the second, etc. The warden shall add the name and address of the challenger and the stated reason for the challenge, and the voter may cast the ballot in the ballot box or feed the ballot through the vote tabulator. No statement shall be made or information given by any person as to how the person voted. The clerk of the precinct shall record in the clerk's Election Record the name and residence of every person who is challenged and has voted. The election officers in charge of the voting list shall mark the letter "CV" next to the challenged voter's name on the voting list.
If the election officer determines that the challenger has not provided factual information specific and personal to that voter demonstrating that the voter is not qualified to vote at that precinct, the election officer shall reject the challenge on the grounds that the challenge was not based upon a legal cause. The election officer shall note in the clerk's election record the name of the challenged voter, the name of the challenger, the factual basis for the challenge and the reason why the challenge was rejected.
(24) Personnel Permitted Within Guard Rail.
(25) Information by Election Officers Prohibited. Before the public declaration of the vote, no election officer shall make any statement regarding the number of ballots cast, the number of votes given to any person, the name of any person who has voted or whose name has not been checked, or of any other fact tending to show the state of the polls. But the officer shall, when requested, make a statement of the figures on the ballot box register. That statement shall not be considered an official declaration as to the state of the polls or of the number of ballots cast.
(26) Opening of the Ballot Box. The ballot box shall not be opened nor any ballot removed until the polls are closed, unless the ballot is returned to the voter in an optical scanner system. (The ballot will be returned if it cannot be read by the vote tabulator.) However, in order to make room for more ballots, the warden may, in the presence of all election officers, open the box and press down the ballots. If the ballot box is too full to operate, the warden may, in the presence of a police officer, remove the ballots from the ballot box in convenient packages and place them in the fiberboard or other container. The warden shall lock the fiberboard or container securely and shall keep it in public view. The ballots shall not be separated from their envelopes or otherwise processed until polls close; except for automatic counting by an optical scanner system. If the ballot box becomes impossible to use, the warden shall establish a substitute box, which shall be kept in public view under the same security as the original ballot box; the clerk shall record a statement of the event and of the reason in the election record, and shall also include this statement in the envelope with the ballots cast.
(27) Processing Absentee Ballots. Absentee ballots used with punch-card systems shall be punch-card ballots; absentee ballots used with optical scanner systems shall be optical scanner ballots.
(28) Absentee Voters Who Seek to Vote in Person. If any person who has been sent an absentee ballot tries to vote in person at the election, precinct officers should see the letters AV or SAV opposite his name on the voting list. This person must present a certificate obtained from the city or town clerk authorizing him to vote in person. The city or town clerk shall by telephone authorize the presiding officer to issue such certificate if the clerk determines that a voter at the polling place is entitled to it, and the presiding officer shall then sign and issue the certificate. The presiding officer shall securely attach the certificate to the voting list and shall duly note that the voter in fact voted in person. If no certificate is authorized, election officers must refuse to let him vote and they shall refer him to the city or town clerk.
(29) "Specially Qualified Voters" Who Register Late. "Specially qualified voters" who register to vote after the regular registration deadline under M.G.L. c. 51, §§ 50 - 51 shall present their certificates of supplementary registration to the warden at the polling place, and these certificates shall then be attached to the voting list. If the specially qualified voters are applying for absentee ballots, the certificate shall be attached to the voting list before it goes to the polling place, and the procedure on election day shall be the same as for a regular absentee voter.
(30) Announce the Polls Closed. An election officer shall announce that the polls are closed at the designated time. Each person in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. If possible, all waiting voters shall be inside the polling place. The police officer shall be directed either to stand at the end of the line and move along toward the inspector until the last person eligible has voted, or to hand out certificates stating that the person was in line when the polls closed.