BOSTON, MA – Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) and Representative Adrian Madaro (D-Boston) filed a bill this week to implement comprehensive voting by mail for all statewide elections in 2020.
"The recent Wisconsin election and experiences in other states make clear that Massachusetts must act now to safeguard the right to vote during the unprecedented COVID-19 public health crisis," Rausch told North TV.
The 2020 Vote by Mail Act would expand existing early voting procedures in Massachusetts by mailing ballots to registered voters for both the September 1 primary election and the November 3 general election.
Every registered voter would receive a ballot for the general election. For the primary, every voter registered with a political party would automatically receive their party’s primary ballot; unenrolled voters would be able to request a primary ballot for any political party.
The legislation also maintains in-person voting options and requires that the state provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for poll workers if the Governor’s COVID-19 state of emergency is in effect, or as the circumstances of the pandemic may necessitate. The vote by mail provisions of the bill will sunset at the close of 2020 and will not apply to future elections outside of this year.
While the automatic vote by mail provisions only apply to the statewide elections in 2020, some additional provisions will be permanent, including election day as a statewide holiday, funding sources, technological enhancements to the voting process, and allowing clerks and municipal elections departments to process early ballots before election day.
Click the link below to stream the senator's interview with North TV Executive Director Peter Gay:
