State Representative Frank Moran introduced amendment #1277 “Improving Voting Access” to H.4600 that would make voting more accessible in Massachusetts by ending the disenfranchisement of voters who don’t return the municipal census and improving polling place accessibility by requiring periodic inspections.

Email your State Representative and ask them to cosponsor Rep Moran’s amendment before the House debates the matter during the week of April 22-26. Common Cause has set up an easy interface way to Email your State Representative.

Amendment # 1277 would do two things

Read the Entire Text of Amendment 1277 (PDF)

End the disenfranchisement of voters who don’t return the municipal census

Today, if a voter does not respond to the annual municipal census, they are punished by being placed on the inactive voter list. Massachusetts is one of the only states to punish voters this way.

The amendment would end this penalty — and ensure clean voter rolls the way other states do. Voters would be placed on the inactive voter list if:

• They changed their address with the U.S. Postal Service and didn’t change their registration or
• They are marked as a duplicate registration by the multistate Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

This process would be automated to the extent possible to reduce the workload on local election officials. There would be no change to the municipal census itself, which is used to ensure local services and to populate the jury pool.

Improve polling place accessibility with periodic inspections

Voters with disabilities continue to face myriad obstacles to in-person voting – from physical inaccessibility to lack of functioning equipment inside polling locations.

This amendment would require the Secretary of Commonwealth to arrange inspection of all polling places and early voting sites at least once every four years to ensure compliance with federal and state disability accessibility laws.

September 20, 2023

In her first year as the Voting Rights Advocate at Disability Law Center, Emily Almeda-Lopez assembled an impressive group of disability rights allies and experts for the 2023 conference. Attendees learned about disability barriers and features in Massachusetts from Bridget Murphy from the Secretary of State’s office as well as representatives of local organizations. We learned more about the recent successes (Electronic Vote by Mail) from the Disability Law Center staff. And Alexia Kemmerling from the national REV UP shared news about voter suppression, advocacy, successes and barriers across the country.

The conference was followed by a training for volunteer polling place evaluators (See 2023 Training Post). This evaluation project continues – PLEASE learn more and volunteer in 2024.

Agenda:

• 12:30-12:35: Opening remarks discussing the importance of local elections, accessible voting and any news from the Secretary’s office. Bridget Murphy from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office
• 12:35-12:50: Overview of voting policy and advocacy across states and at the federal level.  Topics will include John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, The Freedom to Vote Act, Voter Suppression across states, and different advocacy efforts from other REV UP groups and voting rights groups across the country. Alexia Kemmerling, REV UP’s Coordinator for state efforts
  • 12:50-1:00: Q&A
• 1:00-1:30: Discussion of specific organizations’ services, work in voting rights and current or upcoming advocacy and legislative projects and how voters with disabilities can engage with their work. Representatives from Common Cause, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Stavros and the Provider’s Council’s CareVote Initiative
  • 1:30-1:40: Q&A
• 1:40-1:50: Overview and update on the state’s electronic accessible vote by mail system, how the system works in local elections and the importance of being aware of and utilizing accessible electronic vote by mail. Tatum Pritchard, Disability Law Center
  • 1:50-2:00 Q&A
• 2:00-2:15 Close of main Webinar and short break before Polling Place Survey Training
• 2:15-3:15: Training presentation on how to recognize accessibility violations at polling locations and report them in real time to Disability Law Center with a new detailed survey tool. The training will also teach attendees how to fully survey and monitor polling places in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Help America Vote Act, so that volunteers can help Disability Law Center in their mission to keep voting in Massachusetts accessible for everyone. Tom Murphy and Emily Almeda-Lopez from Disability Law Center