An Act relative to uniformity of ballots in polling places
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 10/8/2025 | House | Read second and ordered to a third reading |
| 10/8/2025 | House | Rules suspended |
| 10/6/2025 | House | Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting for a second reading |
| 9/2/2025 | House | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling |
| 6/10/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-1 |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Senate concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | House | Referred to the committee on Election Laws |
No additional cosponsors.
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J15 | Favorable | 1 entries |
| H52 | Place in OD | — |
of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- Ballots for an election shall be uniform in size, material and content for all voters, regardless of whether the ballot is voted on a ballot-marking device or directly on a paper ballot; provided, however, the state secretary may provide ballots that are not uniform when necessary to: (i) comply with federal law; (ii) accommodate voting or tabulating; or (iii) accommodate hand count tabulation methods. Ballots shall be tabulated directly from the voter-marked selections and not from a barcode, QR code or other representation not marked by the voter, either on a ballot-marking device or directly on paper.
Section 44 of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- Ballots for an election shall be uniform in size, material and content for all voters, regardless of whether the ballot is voted on a ballot-marking device or directly on a paper ballot; provided, however, the state secretary may provide ballots that are not uniform when necessary to: (i) comply with federal law; (ii) accommodate voting or tabulating; or (iii) accommodate hand count tabulation methods. Ballots shall be tabulated directly from the voter-marked selections and not from a barcode, QR code or other representation not marked by the voter, either on a ballot-marking device or directly on paper.