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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 966 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 809
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Michelle L. Ciccolo
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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 establishing ranked choice voting for certain offices in the town of Lexington.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Michelle L. Ciccolo15th Middlesex1/14/2025 1 of 7
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 966 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 809
By Representative Ciccolo of Lexington, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 809) of
Michelle L. Ciccolo (by vote of the town) that the town of Lexington be authorized to establish
ranked choice voting for certain offices in said town. Election Laws. [Local Approval
Received.]
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4223 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 establishing ranked choice voting for certain offices in the town of Lexington.
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. Effectiveness of this Act
2 This act shall take effect upon its passage, and elections for the Town offices described
3herein shall take place in accordance with this Act on or after January 1, 2025. The provisions of
4this Act shall supersede all inconsistent provisions of Chapter 753 of the Acts of 1968, as
5amended as of January 1, 2025.
6 SECTION 2. Definitions 2 of 7
7 Chapter 753 of the Acts of 1968, as amended by Chapter 284 of the Acts of 1976,
8Chapter 120 of the Acts of 1985, Chapter 117 of the Acts of 2019, and Chapter 3 of the Acts of
92020 is hereby amended by inserting Sections 1A and 1B as follows:
10 Section 1A
11 The terms below shall have the following meanings for the purposes of Sections 1A and
121B:
13 “Batch elimination,” the simultaneous defeat of multiple candidates, as provided in
14Section 1B(d).
15 “Concluded ballot,” a ballot that does not rank any continuing candidate or that contains
16an overvote at the highest-ranked continuing candidate.
17 “Continuing candidate,” a candidate who has not been defeated or elected.
18 “Elected candidate,” a candidate who has obtained sufficient votes to be elected, whether
19there are additional election rounds before the election has concluded, or the election concluded
20after the vote during which they were elected.
21 “Election threshold,” the number of votes sufficient for a candidate to be elected in a
22multi-seat election. It
23 is calculated by dividing the total number of votes counting for continuing candidates in
24the first round by the sum of the number of seats to be elected plus one, disregarding any
25fractions, and then adding one. 3 of 7
26 “Highest-ranked continuing candidate,” the continuing candidate with the highest ranking
27on a voter's ballot.
28 “Last-place candidate,” (i) the candidate with the lowest vote total in a round of the
29ranked- choice voting tabulation; or (ii) a candidate that is defeated in batch elimination.
30 “Overvote,” a circumstance in which a voter ranks more than one candidate at the same
31ranking. “Plurality voting,” the voting system in which the candidate receiving the most votes is
32declared the winner, even if such candidate does not receive a majority of the votes cast in the
33election.
34 “Ranked choice voting,” a method of casting and tabulating ballots in which voters rank
35candidates for office in order of preference.
36 “Ranking,” means the number assigned on a ballot by a voter to a candidate to express
37the voter's preference for that candidate. Ranking number one shall be the highest ranking,
38ranking number two shall be the next-highest ranking, and so on.
39 “Skipped ranking,” a circumstance in which a vote does not use a ranking and ranks a
40candidate with a subsequent ranking (e.g., a voter casts their votes as follows: (1) Jane Doe; (2)
41Michael Smith; (4) Mary Johnson).
42 “Surplus fraction,” the number equal to the difference between an elected candidate’s
43vote total and the election threshold, divided by the candidate’s vote total.
44 “Transfer value,” the proportion of a vote that a ballot will count to its highest-ranked
45continuing candidate. Each ballot shall begin with a transfer value of one. If a ballot counts to the
46election of a candidate under subsection 1B(d)(1), it receives a lower transfer value. 4 of 7
47 Section 1B
48 (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1, or any other special or general law to the
49contrary, on or after January 1, 2025, the following town offices shall be elected by ranked
50choice voting, except for (1) a single-seat office when the number of certified candidates is less
51than or equal to two, or (2) a multi-seat office when the number of certified candidates is less
52than or equal to the number of seats to be elected, provided that this Section 1B shall not affect
53the term of office of any such elected official or elected member of such board, committee or
54authority elected on or before December 31, 2024.
55 (1) moderator;
56 (2) select board;
57 (3) school committee;
58 (4) Lexington housing authority; and
59 (5) planning board.
60 (b) In any single-seat election, each round shall begin by counting the number of votes
61for each continuing candidate. Each ballot shall count as one vote for its highest-ranked
62continuing candidate. Concluded ballots shall not be counted for any continuing candidate. Each
63round shall end with one of the following two outcomes:
64 (1) If there are more than two continuing candidates, no candidate may win the seat
65outright by a 5 of 7
66 plurality or majority vote and instead, after a vote, (i) the last-place candidate shall be
67defeated; or (ii) the last-place candidates shall be defeated in batch elimination, and a new round
68shall begin; or
69 (2) If there are two continuing candidates, the candidate with the fewest votes shall be
70defeated, the candidate with the most votes shall be elected, and tabulation shall be complete.
71 (c) In any multi-seat election, each round shall begin by counting the number of votes for
72each continuing candidate. Each ballot shall count, at its current transfer value, for its highest-
73ranked continuing candidate. Concluded ballots shall not count for any continuing candidate. In
74the first round only, the election threshold shall then be calculated. Each round shall proceed as
75follows:
76 (1) Any continuing candidate who meets or exceeds the election threshold shall be
77elected. Each ballot counting for an elected candidate shall be assigned a new transfer value by
78multiplying the ballot’s current transfer value by the surplus fraction for the candidate. Each
79elected candidate shall be deemed to have a number of votes equal to the election threshold in all
80future rounds, and a new round shall begin; each candidate having exceeded the Election
81Threshold in the initial ballot shall be removed or listed as “ELECTED” on all subsequent
82ballots for continuing candidates until the election is complete;
83 (2) If no continuing candidate has more votes than the election threshold and the sum of
84the number of elected candidates and continuing candidates is more than the sum of the number
85of seats to be elected plus one, the last-place candidate shall be defeated or the last-place
86candidates shall be defeated in batch elimination, and a new round shall begin; or 6 of 7
87 (3) If no continuing candidate has more votes than the election threshold and the sum of
88the number of elected candidates and continuing candidates is equal to the sum of the number of
89seats to be elected plus one, the continuing candidate with fewest votes shall be defeated, all
90other continuing candidates shall be elected, and the election is complete.
91 (d) Batch elimination shall apply to the largest possible group of continuing candidates
92such that the sum of the votes for batch-eliminated candidates is less than the individual number
93of votes for every continuing candidate not in the group; provided that the number of continuing
94candidates not batch-eliminated is at least one more than the remaining number of positions to
95elect.
96 (e) Ties shall be resolved as follows:
97 (1) If two or more last-place candidates are tied and batch elimination applies, each tied
98candidate to whom batch elimination applies shall be defeated accordingly.
99 (2) If two or more continuing candidates are tied but are not in last place, the order of
100said tied continuing candidates shall be determined by the number of votes received by each tied
101candidate in the prior round; or
102 (3) If two or more last-place continuing candidates are tied and batch elimination does
103not apply, the continuing candidate with the fewest votes in the prior round shall be defeated. If
104two or more continuing candidates were also tied in the prior round (i.e., two continuing
105candidates were tied in the previous round, but batch elimination did not then apply), the
106continuing candidate with the fewest votes in the next-prior round shall be eliminated. If two
107last-place continuing candidates are tied at the end of the first round and batch elimination does
108not apply, then the two tied continuing candidates shall have a run-off before the next round. The 7 of 7
109continuing candidate with fewer votes in the runoff will be defeated, and any remaining rounds
110in the election will proceed according to this Section 1B. This process shall be applied
111successively as many times as necessary, a tie shown in any prior round shall be decided by
112referring to the standing of the candidates in the round immediately preceding the tie.
113 (f) The Town Clerk may, at the Town Clerk’s discretion, publish guidance or rules on the
114administration of elections conducted according to this Act; provided that any such guidance or
115rules shall be limited to logistical, accessibility, or other similar guidance or rules that are purely
116administrative in nature; and provided further that any guidance or rules hereunder published
117shall be limited to ensuring the integrity and efficient functioning of the election.
118 (g) In any election conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Section 1A and
119Section 1B, the Town Clerk shall publish election results that show the tabulations by round,
120along with any additional information that may be required by applicable law.