Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H835 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2983 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 835
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Homar Gómez
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act amending the home rule charter of the city of Easthampton.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Homar Gómez2nd Hampshire1/16/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2983 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 835
18	18	By Representative Gómez of Easthampton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 835) of
19	19	Homar Gómez (with the approval of the mayor and city council) that the city of Easthampton be
20	20	authorized to amend the charter of said city relative to ranked choice voting. Election Laws.
21	21	[Local Approval Received.]
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE HOUSE, NO. 5068 OF 2023-2024.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
27	27	(2025-2026)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act amending the home rule charter of the city of Easthampton.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Section 1-7 of Article 1 of the charter of the city of Easthampton which is
33	33	2on file in the office of the archivist of the commonwealth pursuant to section chapter of chapter
34	34	343B of the General Laws is hereby amended by fully replacing the existing definition of
35	35	4“Ranked Choice Voting” with the following:
36	36	5 Ranked Choice Voting – The words “ranked choice voting” shall mean an election
37	37	6system in which each voter shall cast a single vote by ranking candidates in order of preference,
38	38	7indicating the voter’s first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on, continuing until the
39	39	8voter has assigned a single numerical ranking to each candidate on the ballot or until the voter 2 of 4
40	40	9chooses to stop ranking. Definitions specific to ranked choice voting shall have the following
41	41	10meanings:
42	42	11 Continuing Candidate – The words “continuing candidate” shall mean any candidate that
43	43	12has not been declared as elected or defeated.
44	44	13 Concluded Ballot – The words “concluded ballot” shall mean any ballot which does not
45	45	14contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
46	46	15 Proportional Value – The words “proportional value” shall mean a persistent decimal
47	47	16number associated with each non-concluded ballot. Every ballot shall have a starting
48	48	17proportional value equal to one.
49	49	18 Winning Threshold – The words “winning threshold” shall mean a value equal to the
50	50	19total number of non-concluded ballots cast in a race, divided by the sum of the number of
51	51	20unelected positions remaining in that race plus one.
52	52	21 Transfer Factor – The words “transfer factor” shall mean a value equal to the difference
53	53	22between the total number of votes received by an elected candidate and the current winning
54	54	23threshold, divided by the total number of votes received by the elected candidate.
55	55	24 Tabulation Process – The words “tabulation process” shall mean the process of
56	56	25determining the results of an election that uses ranked choice voting. The election shall be
57	57	26tabulated in successive rounds, with each round proceeding as follows:
58	58	27 (a)Count – Each continuing candidate’s vote total shall be reset to zero. The winning
59	59	28threshold shall be recalculated for the current round. Each ballot shall be counted by adding its 3 of 4
60	60	29current proportional value to the vote total for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that
61	61	30ballot.
62	62	31 (b)Declare – If any continuing candidate has a vote total that is greater than the
63	63	32current winning threshold, that candidate shall be declared elected, and a transfer value for that
64	64	33candidate shall be calculated. If a candidate was elected, all ballots that were counted for that
65	65	34candidate shall have their previous proportional value multiplied by the transfer value for that
66	66	35candidate, and the result shall be recorded as the new proportional value for that ballot. If no
67	67	36candidate was elected, then the candidate who has the lowest vote total shall be declared
68	68	37defeated.
69	69	38 (c)Repeat – If the number of elected candidates is equal to the number of positions
70	70	39being elected or if there are no more continuing candidates, this is the last round. Otherwise,
71	71	40begin a new round.
72	72	41 SECTION 2. Article 7 of said charter is hereby amended by striking out sections 7-1.1
73	73	42and 7-1.2, and by inserting at the end of section 7-1 the following:
74	74	43 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, elections for all elected city
75	75	44offices shall be conducted using ranked choice voting as defined in section 1-7 of Article 1,
76	76	45unless the total number of qualified candidates is equal to one, in which case plurality voting
77	77	46shall be used.
78	78	47 SECTION 3. The president of the city council of the city of Easthampton shall appoint an
79	79	48ad hoc committee to revise the existing ranked choice voting ordinance. The ad hoc committee
80	80	49shall consist of the city clerk or the city clerk’s designee, 1 member of the board of registrars of
81	81	50voters, 2 members of the city council and 3 registered voters of the city. 4 of 4
82	82	51 The ad hoc committee shall present its proposed ordinance revisions to the city council
83	83	52for its review and adoption, subject to amendment by the city council and approval by the mayor
84	84	53pursuant to the procedural requirements for ordinances under the charter of the city of
85	85	54Easthampton.
86	86	55 SECTION 4. Section 2 shall be placed on the ballot for acceptance by the voters of the
87	87	56city of Easthampton at the next city election. The city solicitor shall prepare and include a
88	88	57summary of the question to be printed on the ballot.
89	89	58 SECTION 5. Sections 1 and 3 shall take effect upon acceptance by the voters of section 2
90	90	59pursuant to this act but shall not be implemented for an election that may occur within 45 days
91	91	60after approval of any such ballot question.