An Act to increase the safety and security of unattended ballot boxes
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 4/2/2026 | House | Accompanied a study order, see H5311↗ (under House Rule 27) |
| — | House | Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order |
| 6/27/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 07/08/2025 from 01:00 PM-04:00 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 | Accompanied | — |
Chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 71A the following new Section:-
Surveillance of Unattended Ballot Drop Boxes (a) Every election officer in a city or town shall provide 24-hour video surveillance of each unattended ballot drop box within their jurisdiction, and shall post a sign on or near each drop box indicating that it is under constant surveillance. (b) The cameras used for surveillance: (1) may be motion-activated, (2) shall record footage, and (3) shall be operational during all types of elections. (c) The footage recorded: (1) may be stored in a cloud storage or physical location, as determined by the city or town, and (2) shall be retained for a minimum of 22 months after each election it records.
Chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 71A the following new Section:- Section 71B. Surveillance of Unattended Ballot Drop Boxes (a) Every election officer in a city or town shall provide 24-hour video surveillance of each unattended ballot drop box within their jurisdiction, and shall post a sign on or near each drop box indicating that it is under constant surveillance. (b) The cameras used for surveillance: (1) may be motion-activated, (2) shall record footage, and (3) shall be operational during all types of elections. (c) The footage recorded: (1) may be stored in a cloud storage or physical location, as determined by the city or town, and (2) shall be retained for a minimum of 22 months after each election it records.