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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2136 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 820 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Kate Donaghue and Frank A. Moran |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act enforcing accessibility for voters with disabilities. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kate Donaghue19th Worcester1/15/2025Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/15/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/7/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/7/2025Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex2/7/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/7/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex2/7/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/20/2025Margaret R. Scarsdale1st Middlesex2/20/2025Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex2/20/2025William C. Galvin6th Norfolk2/20/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex3/3/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2136 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 820 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Donaghue of Westborough and Moran of Lawrence, a petition (accompanied |
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| 19 | 19 | | by bill, House, No. 820) of Kate Donaghue, Frank A. Moran and others for legislation to ensure |
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| 20 | 20 | | access to polling places for voters with disabilities. Election Laws. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 701 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act enforcing accessibility for voters with disabilities. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 24 the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2following section:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 24A. To ensure compliance with federal and state laws concerning accessibility |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4for voters with disabilities including the state secretary’s polling place accessibility regulations, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5an agent of the state secretary shall inspect, at least once every four years, each polling place |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6most recently designated under section 24 and each early voting site most recently designated |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7under subsection (b) of section 25B. The inspecting agent shall promptly and specifically report |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8in writing to the state secretary and the city or town clerk every failure to comply with state and |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9federal accessibility laws, and the responsible officials of the city or town shall take immediate |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10action to ensure access for voters with disabilities and within 5 days submit to the state secretary 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11a written plan to comply. If the city or town fails to take such immediate action or to submit a |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12written plan to provide access to voters with disabilities, the state secretary may order the city or |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13town to comply with the law. Not later than December 31 each year, the state secretary shall |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14report in writing to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives on all activities under |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15this section. The attorney general may bring a civil action in the superior court to enforce |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16compliance with those accessibility laws, with a written plan, or with the state secretary’s order. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17The actions provided in this section shall not limit the availability of judicial remedies to any |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18person, official, commission or board. |
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