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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4570 FILED ON: 4/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4034
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Tommy Vitolo
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act authorizing ranked choice voting in the town of Brookline.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tommy Vitolo15th Norfolk4/14/2025 1 of 7
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4570 FILED ON: 4/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4034
By Representative Vitolo of Brookline, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4034) of
Tommy Vitolo (by vote of the town) for legislation to authorize ranked choice voting in the town
of Brookline. Election Laws. [Local Approval Received.]
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4112 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act authorizing ranked choice voting in the town of Brookline.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. RANKED CHOICE VOTING
2 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
3meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
4 “Batch elimination” is the simultaneous defeat of multiple candidates for whom it is
5mathematically impossible to be elected.
6 "Concluded ballot," a ballot that does not rank any continuing candidate or contains an
7overvote at the highest-ranked continuing candidate, or contains 2 or more sequential skipped
8rankings before its highest-ranked continuing candidate.
9 "Continuing candidate," a candidate who has not been defeated or elected. 2 of 7
10 “Election threshold,” the number of votes sufficient for a candidate to be elected in a
11multi-seat election. It is calculated by dividing the total number of votes counting for continuing
12candidates in the first round by the sum of the number of seats to be elected and 1, disregarding
13any fractions, and then adding 1.
14 "Highest-ranked continuing candidate," the continuing candidate with the highest ranking
15on a voter's ballot.
16 "Last-place candidate," (i) the candidate with the lowest vote total in a round of the
17ranked-choice voting tabulation; or (ii) a candidate that is defeated in batch elimination.
18 "Overvote," a circumstance in which a voter ranks more than 1 candidate at the same
19ranking.
20 “Ranked choice voting,” a method of casting and tabulating ballots in which voters rank
21candidates for office in order of preference.
22 "Ranking" means the number assigned on a ballot by a voter to a candidate to express the
23voter's relative preference for that candidate. Ranking number 1 shall be the highest ranking,
24ranking number 2 shall be the next-highest ranking, and so on.
25 “Skipped ranking”, a circumstance in which a voter does not use a ranking and ranks a
26candidate with a subsequent ranking.
27 “Surplus fraction,” the number equal to the difference between an elected candidate’s
28vote total and the election threshold, divided by the candidate’s vote total. 3 of 7
29 “Transfer value,” the proportion of a vote that a ballot will count to its highest-ranked
30continuing candidate. Each ballot shall begin with a transfer value of 1. If a ballot counts to the
31election of a candidate under subsection (d)(1), the ballot receives a lower transfer value.
32 (b) All town-wide offices shall be elected by ranked choice voting at the annual election,
33and in any special election called pursuant to MGL Chapter 41 Section 10.
34 Ranked choice voting shall apply to a single-seat office only when the number of
35candidates printed on the ballot exceeds 2 and to a multi-seat office only when the number of
36candidates printed on the ballot exceeds the number of seats to be elected.
37 (c) In any single-seat election, each round shall begin by counting the number of votes
38for each continuing candidate. Each ballot shall count as 1 vote for its highest-ranked continuing
39candidate. Concluded ballots shall not be counted for any continuing candidate. Each round shall
40proceed sequentially as follows:
41 (1) If there are 2 or fewer continuing candidates, the candidate with the most votes shall
42be elected, and tabulation shall be complete.
43 (2) If there are more than 2 continuing candidates, the last-place candidate shall be
44defeated, or the last-place candidates shall be defeated in batch elimination, and a new round
45shall begin.
46 (d) In any multi-seat election, each round shall begin by counting the number of votes for
47each continuing candidate. Each ballot shall count, at its current transfer value, for its highest-
48ranked continuing candidate. Concluded ballots shall not count for any continuing candidate. In 4 of 7
49the first round only, the election threshold shall then be calculated. Each round shall proceed
50sequentially as follows:
51 (1) If the sum of the number of elected candidates and continuing candidates is equal to
52the number of seats to be filled, then all continuing candidates shall be elected, and tabulation
53shall be complete.
54 (2) If at least 1 continuing candidate has greater than or equal to the number of votes than
55the election threshold, then all such candidates shall be elected. If the number of elected
56candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, then tabulation shall be complete.
57Otherwise, each ballot counting for an elected candidate shall be assigned a new transfer value
58by multiplying the ballot’s current transfer value by the surplus fraction for the candidate. Each
59elected candidate shall be deemed to have a number of votes equal to the election threshold in all
60future rounds, and a new round shall begin.
61 (3) Otherwise, the last-place candidate shall be defeated, or the last-place candidates shall
62be defeated in batch elimination, and a new round shall begin.
63 (e) Batch elimination shall apply to the largest possible group of continuing candidates
64such that the sum of the votes of candidates in the group is less than the individual number of
65votes of every continuing candidate not in the group, and provided that the number of continuing
66candidates not in the group is at least 1 more than the remaining number of positions to elect.
67 (f) Prior to the first election conducted using Ranked Choice Voting, the Town Clerk,
68subject to approval by the Board of Registrars, will establish a method of tiebreaking that will be
69used if 2 or more last-place candidates are tied and batch elimination does not apply. The results
70of any such tiebreaking events must be recorded and reused in the event of a recount. The 5 of 7
71method for tiebreaking may be amended from time to time, but shall not be amended during the
72course of an election, including any and all recounts.
73 (g) When a skipped ranking or repeat candidate ranking is encountered on a ballot, that
74vote shall count towards the highest continuing ranking. In the case of an overvote involving two
75or more continuing candidates, the overvote candidates and all subsequently ranked candidates
76will be disregarded. If any vote cannot be advanced because no further continuing candidates are
77ranked on that ballot, that ballot shall be declared concluded for that contest.
78 (h) As used in section 4 of chapter 43A, the "order of votes received" by candidates in a
79ranked choice voting election shall mean the order in which candidates are elected. If multiple
80candidates are elected in the same round, the respective order of elected candidates in that round
81shall mean the order of votes received by those candidates at the end of the round.
82 (i) The Town Clerk, subject to approval by the Board of Registrars, may make any
83changes to the ranked choice voting ballot and tabulation process necessary to ensure the
84integrity and smooth functioning of the election, provided that ranked choice voting shall still be
85used and the fewest number of changes are made to achieve such purpose.
86 (j) In any election conducted using Ranked-Choice Voting the Town Clerk shall publish
87election results that show the tabulations by rounds, along with any additional information that
88may be required by the Town bylaws.
89 (k) The Town Clerk shall provide educational materials to voters subject to any
90applicable Town bylaws.
91 SECTION 2. 6 of 7
92 Notwithstanding the provisions of applicable provisions of chapters 53 and 54 of the
93general laws, Ranked-choice voting ballots for use in the Town of Brookline municipal elections
94shall be prepared according to a format meeting the below requirements and otherwise consistent
95with state law.
96 a) To the extent possible, a ranked choice voting ballot shall allow voters to rank as many
97choices as there are candidates printed on the ballot. If the voting equipment is unable to
98reasonably accommodate a number of rankings on the ballot equal to the number of candidates,
99the Board of Registrars of Voters may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the
100maximum number allowed by the voting equipment. A ranked choice voting ballot shall not
101interfere with a voter’s ability to rank at least 1 write-in candidate.
102 b) The ballot must indicate the number of seats to be filled for each contest.
103 c) For each election where Ranked Choice Voting is used and the number of candidates
104exceeds two, the Board of Registrars shall randomly draw lots prior to the printing of ballots so
105as to determine the order in which the names of candidates shall appear on the ballot. To the
106name of a candidate for Town office who is an elected incumbent thereof shall be added the
107words ‘Candidate for Reelection’.
108 d) The ballot must comply with all otherwise applicable provisions of the General Laws
109and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
110 SECTION 3. If any part of this Act is declared unconstitutional by a court of competent
111jurisdiction, the remaining parts shall survive in full force and effect. If a conflict arises between
112this Act and any other provision of law, the policies and purposes of this Act shall govern. 7 of 7
113 SECTION 4. Not sooner than four years after acceptance of this act, a proposal to resume
114or discontinue the use of Ranked Choice Voting may be put on the Warrant for Town Meeting
115by a petition signed by at least ten registered voters of Brookline. In the alternative, not sooner
116than four years after acceptance of this act, the question may be so placed on said ballot when a
117petition signed by at least ten per cent of the registered voters of Brookline requesting such
118action is filed with the registrars, who shall have seven days after receipt of such a petition to
119certify the signatures. Upon passage in Town Meeting or upon certification of the signatures, the
120Town Clerk shall cause the question to be placed on the ballot at the next regular municipal
121election held more than thirty-five days after such passage or certification. Upon the defeat by
122the voters of the above described ballot question, another proposal to resume or discontinue the
123use of Ranked Choice Voting may not be placed on the ballot for four years thereafter. Not
124sooner than four years after a successful vote to discontinue the use of Ranked Choice Voting,
125the procedures in this section may be used to resume the use of Ranked Choice Voting.
126 SECTION 5. This act shall be submitted for acceptance by the voters of the town of
127Brookline at the next regular municipal or state election following the effective date of this act;
128provided, however, that if the deadline to put a question on the ballot for the next regular
129municipal or state election has passed, the question shall be placed on the ballot for the following
130regular municipal or state election. This act shall be submitted for acceptance in the form of the
131following question: