Voting Rights Advocates Applaud New Expansion to Voting Laws in Massachusetts

Boston, MA — Governor Baker signed the VOTES Act into law today, expanding access to the ballot in Massachusetts. 

Voting rights advocates, public interest groups and a network of state and local organizations praised the legislation signed by Governor Baker today. The bill, An Act Fostering Voting Opportunities, Trust, Equity, and Security or the VOTES Act, is the largest expansion of voting access in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in years.  The House and Senate passed the final version of the bill last week.

The VOTES Act will make several permanent changes to Massachusetts’ election laws, including: allowing voters to vote by mail without an excuse; expanding early voting options; making sure that eligible voters who are incarcerated are able to request a mail ballot and vote; ensuring that the Commonwealth joins the 30-state Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to keep voter registration rolls up-to-date; and more. The bill also reduces the voter registration deadline prior to an election from twenty days to ten. 

The VOTES Act, sponsored by State Representative John Lawn and Senator Cindy Creem, is strongly supported by the Massachusetts Election Modernization Coalition, a coalition of advocacy organizations working to modernize the Commonwealth’s election laws. 

“We are thrilled that Governor Baker signed the VOTES Act into law today. We’d like to thank Governor Baker, Senate President Spilka and Speaker Mariano for making voting rights a priority this legislative session,” said Geoff Foster, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “At a time when many states are making it harder to vote, this new law will modernize our elections and make our democracy more accessible and equitable.”

“We are proud Massachusetts is actively supporting voters and appreciate the Governor signing this bill,” said Patricia Comfort, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. “We expect voters to use the mail and early voting options as soon as the Sept. 6 primary election.” 

“Voters embraced mail-in voting and expanded early voting in 2020,” said Beth Huang, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, “Now that the VOTES Act is law, we will educate voters, especially in communities of color and working-class neighborhoods, about these permanent expansions of voting rights.”

“Voting is the foundation of democracy; it is the right we exercise to protect all others,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Across the country, voting rights are in peril, but Massachusetts is charting a different course. We applaud Massachusetts policymakers for strengthening our democracy and advancing these crucial voting reforms.”

“Whatever sport you’re following right now, signing this bill is a home run, a slam dunk, or a hole in one. All of us win when voting is made more accessible and that’s what the VOTES Act will accomplish,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MASSPIRG. “Our thanks go out to Governor Baker for turning this act into law.” 

“We are overjoyed that Governor Baker has signed the VOTES Act into law,” said Vanessa Snow, Policy and Organizing Director at MassVOTE. “Policies included in the VOTES Act, like permanent mail-in voting, expanded early voting, and jail-based voting reforms, will increase accessibility and equity in our elections. We of course wish that Election Day Registration was included in this version of the VOTES Act, but we will continue to fight tirelessly for the reform in the years ahead. We thank Representative John Lawn and Senator Cindy Creem for filing the VOTES Act, as well as Senate President Spilka, House Speaker Mariano, and Governor Baker for supporting the bill.”

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The Election Modernization Coalition is made up of Common Cause Massachusetts, ACLU of Massachusetts, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, MassVOTE, the Massachusetts Voter Table, MASSPIRG, and Lawyers for Civil Rights.

‘We need to level the playing field’: Activists push for Election Day registration in new lobbying push on Beacon Hill →

By Alison Kuznitz | akuznitz@masslive.com

A small contingent of voting reform activists made a beeline to House Speaker Ron Mariano’s office in the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, as they kicked off their new weekly lobbying effort to prod Beacon Hill lawmakers to adopt Election Day voter registration within a broader legislative package.

“There’s a really strong urgency to get this done ... I think the urgency to go big for democracy, go big for voting, to have Massachusetts be an example to the rest of the country about when some states are moving in the wrong direction, we can move in the right direction,” said Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on “building a better democracy” in the commonwealth. “And I think there’s strong agreement amongst our coalition that if Election Day registration is not included, there’ll be unfinished business around voting rights in Massachusetts.”

The so-called VOTES Act — and the fate of a compromise provision to allow Massachusetts residents to register to vote on Election Day — has remained stuck in closed-door negotiations for months.

In bills passed by the Senate and House, both chambers agreed on pandemic-era reforms for mail-in voting and expanded early voting.

But unlike the Senate, the House opposes same-day voter registration, which proponents have characterized as a common-sense measure to bolster equity and access. Nineteen states — including Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine — have enacted Election Day registration, plus Washington, D.C., according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin strongly supports election-day registration, which he described as an “extremely valuable remedy.” Galvin told MassLive Wednesday he’s not surprised the VOTES Act remains lodged in conference committee — though he said details must be ironed out by the end of the month to avoid disruptions to mail-in voting options.

“The House conferees are entrenched in their opposition to this,” Galvin said. “The problem is that, in the end, the impasse that occurred because of that, all of the other issues are the bill — which are reforms that we very effectively used during the pandemic (and) which would now be made permanent — are also tied up.”

The delay already sparked confusion for voters who cast ballots in recent municipal elections without the expanded menu of pandemic voting protections.

“Spring town elections went forward with the old system because there was nothing in place,” said Nancy Brumback, director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. “So we don’t want that to continue through the primary and fall election this year.”

Mariano was working from his district Wednesday, activists were informed as they inquired about meeting with the Quincy Democrat at the State House. They instead left fact sheets about provisional ballots and same-day voter registration before heading to other lawmakers’ offices.

More than 2,500 provisional ballots — cast by Bay Staters who believed they were registered to vote, but ultimately did not appear on voter rolls at their polling location — were rejected in the 2020 election, Foster said. But should Election Day voter registration be codified into law, Foster said, the majority of people would be able cast ballots that are ultimately counted.

Most rejected provisional ballots occur in cities, which disproportionately impact renters, people of color and naturalized citizens, said Beth Huang, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table. This includes people who moved and never updated their voter registration information.

By contrast, Huang said, provisional ballots are far less common in smaller towns predominantly comprised of homeowners — with some residents living there for years, if not decades.

“We see this kind of weighting of our democracy toward homeowners in Massachusetts, in a state that has a homeownership gap of two to one between Black households and white households,” Huang said. “It is an untenable way to reach a more equitable democracy. We need to level the playing field.”

More than one-third of all rejected provisional ballots — 731 — were in Boston. Worcester had the second-highest rejected volume at 182, followed by Lowell at 149, according to information provided by the Massachusetts Election Modernization Coalition. That coalition, embracing “walk-around Wednesdays” at the State House, plans to assemble supporters spanning voting rights advocates, religious organizations and the private sector to lobby lawmakers.

As Galvin and activists see it, the thorny process of vetting provisional ballots should be replaced by allowing Election Day registration at the polls.

A revamped system would ease administrative burdens on election workers and local officials who “spend all day on Election Day trying to verify” provisional ballots, Galvin said.

“Most of them they can’t because they didn’t ever re-register, which means at the end of the day the voter doesn’t get to participate, the provisional ballot is destroyed and my folks have spent an enormous amount of time working — doing an administrative dance to prove this,” Galvin said. “It’s an unfair use of their resources, as well.”

Election Day registration would take a matter of minutes, Galvin said, once workers consult a central voter registry and check people’s identification proving their new address and precinct

The issue of provisional ballots made headlines earlier this week, when Gov. Charlie Baker voiced his latest concern over a separate bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Baker argued the Work and Family Mobility Act — which passed in the Senate last week, after the House approved similar legislation in February — would erroneously register people to vote due to interconnected administrative functions at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

“I believe it creates a lot of complexity for cities and towns,” Baker told reporters Monday. “I think if it passes, we will have huge numbers of provisional votes, which will then make it harder for people to actually figure out who won elections.”

Foster refuted the governor’s claim.

“It’s not correct in the sense that registered voters don’t fill out provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are for voters who on Election Day show up to vote but aren’t on the voter list,” Foster said. “But we do think that any provisional ballot that is cast and rejected highlights the sore need for Election Day registration.”

Election day voter registration in Mass. shouldn’t be this hard to achieve →

By Yvonne Abraham

The voting rights package currently being hashed out by Massachusetts lawmakers is a thing of beauty. But it is missing a critical piece.

What it leaves out says a lot about who still holds power on Beacon Hill, and how they keep it. Voters are supposed to choose their lawmakers. But some of those lawmakers clearly want it to work the other way round. Worse, their intransigence may delay the bill long enough to make it harder to cast ballots this year.

Before we get to that unseemly state of affairs, the beauty part. Both the House and the Senate have passed versions of the VOTES Act that would make voting easier than ever in this state. Among the measures they agree on: expanding opportunities for absentee, mail-in, and early voting; shortening voter registration deadlines from 20 days before an election to 10 days; and easing ballot access for incarcerated people and those with disabilities.

So far, so delightful. But a measure the Senate overwhelmingly approved never made it into the House version of the law: It would allow people to show up at their polling places, get on the voter rolls right there on the spot, and cast their ballots.

This isn’t some outlandish proposal: It is immensely popular with voters. Twenty states and D.C. already offer it. Studies show that same-day registration boosts voter turnout, especially among younger voters, people of color, and low-income people, according to Demos, a progressive think tank.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Assistant majority leader Mike Moran, that’s who.

In January, when Representative Nika Elugardo of Boston offered an amendment to add Election Day registration to the House bill, Moran, a Brighton Democrat, used a parliamentary trick to nix it, sending the issue off to Secretary of State Bill Galvin to study. Moran and his lackeys provided a range of bogus justifications for doing so.

Chiefly, they said they were concerned for city clerks across the Commonwealth, who would be overwhelmed by Election Day registrations. But the clerks, ahem, came out in support of Election Day registration.

And the guy who actually runs elections in this state has supported it for several years, and wants no part of a study.

“We never asked for a study,” Galvin said in an interview, “nor was a study ever necessary. ... This was a parliamentary tactic, not a sincere effort.”

Galvin is confident the Commonwealth’s clerks can make Election Day registration work smoothly, and do the work they’re meant to: “Helping people to vote rather than spending the day trying to tell them why they can’t.”

So what’s up with Moran, whom Galvin calls “the main obstacle” here?

His office did not respond to my calls, but the answer is plain if you look at his district, which, coincidentally, Galvin once represented: Allston and Brighton have giant tenant populations, students and others who move in and out each year — just the kind of transient voters more likely to take advantage of Election Day registration.

No legislator likes that kind of unpredictability: They want to know who will show up at the polls year after year, whose interests they should keep in mind, who they can count on.

“Some lawmakers think they need to be the gatekeeper, to choose their voters,” said Beth Huang, head of Massachusetts Voter Table, a civic advocacy group. “Everything about this reflects how power is weighted against people who are more transient, younger, low-income, and often Black and brown.”

Senate and House negotiators trying to come up with a compromise version of the VOTES Act are stuck on Election Day registration. After more than two months of stasis, they are finally meeting on Thursday to hash out their differences, though there’s no obvious sign Moran is willing to budge.

Meanwhile, the stalemate over Election Day registration delays other reforms set to go into effect this year, Galvin said — including mail-in voting, which requires months of preparation to make work. “Every extra day puts that at risk,” he said.

If a final version of the VOTES Act is not signed into law soon, it will be too late to make mail-in voting happen for the Sept. 6 primary.

We’re about to see how much democracy some leaders are willing to sacrifice on the altar of incumbency.

Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham can be reached at yvonne.abraham@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeAbraham.

Boston Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley join nearly 50 organizations in support of Election Day Registration →

Boston – The Boston Foundation and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley joined with nearly 50 other organizations co-signing a letter calling for Massachusetts lawmakers to Election Day Registration (EDR) in the final version of the VOTES Act.

The endorsement letter cites the positive impact EDR would have on election equity in the City of Boston. “Data show that Boston residents, particularly residents of color, are disproportionately disenfranchised by the current voter registration rules,” said M. Lee Pelton, President and CEO about the letter, which was submitted April 1. “Setting up an effective system for election day registration would remove unnecessary administrative barriers and increase voter engagement in local elections.”

The letter notes that 2020 census data reveals that one-in-five Bostonians change their address every year, part of the reason Boston residents accounted for one-third of all Massachusetts provisional ballots issued in the 2020 Presidential Election. EDR helps remove barriers to legal voting that disproportionately limit the political power of low-income communities and communities of color. Research from UMass Amherst and Demos show that in states with Election Day Registration, voter turnout for Black and Latino voters increases up to 17%.

“We have made so much progress to ease voting access over the last few years,” said Bob Giannino, Ansin President and CEO of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “This is perhaps the most critical step to ensure that our all citizens, particularly our most vulnerable, have the ability to let their voices be heard.”

Election Day Registration would allow for eligible voters to register and vote on the same day, removing a long-standing barrier to voting that is the 20-day voter registration cut-off period.

Recent polling shows that 65% of Massachusetts voters support EDR.

What is the VOTES Act?

Senate and House have both passed a version of the VOTES Act in the current sesion. Both versions include permanent vote-by-mail, extended early voting, and more. The Senate included Same-Day Registration in its version of the bill, but the House did not. The difference between Same-Day Registration and Election Day Registration is that SDR includes the ability to register on early voting days. EDR is only for Election Day.

The bill (S.2554) is being negotiated by a conference committee led by Representative Mike Moran (D-Brighton) and Senator Barry Finegold (D-Andover) that includes Representative Dan Ryan (D- Charlestown), Representative Shaun Dooley (R- Norfolk), Senator Cindy Creem (D- Newton), and Senator Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton).

Click here to see the letter and full list of signers.

A protester thought he was heckling Mayor Wu. It wasn’t her.

By Christopher Gavin

A protester on Boston Common on Monday apparently wanted to give Mayor Michelle Wu an earful.

There was only one problem, though: The woman he directed his criticism at wasn’t her.

The demonstrator interrupted a press conference featuring state Rep. Nika Elugardo aimed at boosting support for election-day voter registration, a move supporters say would help raise turnout among Black and Latino voters in Massachusetts, MassLive reports.

The protester, an unidentified man wearing sunglasses and a mask, claimed the American Civil Liberties Union does not care about minority communities and called on officials to probe criminal cases that involved Annie Dookhan, a former state chemist who fabricated evidence in approximately 24,000 cases.

The ACLU requested the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss over 40,000 cases that were impacted by Dookhan in 2016, the outlet reports.

“You’re a political puppet … Why don’t you look into it, Mayor Wu?” the protester said, apparently thinking that Wu was among the group leading the conference. “Look into that — you’ll find the truth, Mayor Wu.”

But the mayor wasn’t there.

Instead, the protester, unknowingly, was leveling his criticism at Beth Huang, executive director of Massachusetts Voter Table, who made light of the incident on Twitter later Monday.

“If only being a 5’4″ Asian woman imbued in me the powers of being mayor of Boston,” Huang wrote.

“I am not @wutrain, but we both support voting rights!” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.

Wu chimed in on Twitter, too.

“We should make some good trouble with this,” she tweeted at Huang.

Wu has been no stranger to protestors, as a vocal minority have raised opposition to the city’s employee and indoor COVID-19 vaccination mandates in recent weeks, including by staging demonstrations outside the mayor’s Roslindale home.

But Monday’s incident appeared to succinctly highlight the sexism and racism Wu, the first woman and person of color elected to serve as mayor, has experienced since taking office in November. She and other public officials have spoken out about and denounced the persistent issue during her short tenure in the mayor’s office.

Monday’s press conference came as the Election Modernization Coalition, a group of voting and civil rights advocacy organizations, continued to push for election-day voter registration to be included in a massive voting reform legislative package on Beacon Hill.

The proposal, if passed, could make certain practices — like mail-in voting — adopted during COVID-19 permanent fixtures of Massachusetts elections, MassLive reports.