Massachusetts · statute · Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 56 · 63 active provisions
Section 1. A registrar, assistant registrar, member of a listing board, police officer or interpreter, who knowingly enters on any list of persons, or causes or allows to be entered thereon, or reports the name of any person as a resident of a building, who is not a resident thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not…
Section 2. A registrar or assistant registrar who refuses or wilfully neglects to require, under section forty-four of chapter fifty-one, an applicant for registration to submit an affidavit in compliance with said section, or who knowingly prevents or seeks to prevent the registration of any legal voter, or who knowin…
Section 3. A registrar, assistant registrar or a member of a listing board or a police officer in a city or town having a listing board upon whom a duty is imposed by any law relating to the listing or registration of voters, who refuses or wilfully fails to perform such duty, or who wilfully performs it contrary to la…
Section 4. Whoever, being an inmate of a building and a resident seventeen years of age or upward, refuses or neglects to give the information required by section four of chapter fifty-one when asked by a registrar, assistant registrar, or anyone so authorized under section fourteen A of said chapter fifty-one to perfo…
Section 5. Whoever knowingly gives to a registrar, assistant registrar, member of a listing board or police officer, for the purpose of making a list of residents seventeen years of age or older or a report under the laws relating to the listing and registration of voters, the name of any person as a resident of a buil…
Section 6. Whoever knowingly or wilfully makes a false affidavit, takes a false oath or signs a false certificate relative to the qualifications of any person for listing or registration shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year.
Section 7. Whoever aids or abets a person in knowingly or wilfully making a false affidavit, taking a false oath or signing a false certificate relative to the qualifications of any person for listing or registration shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than…
Section 8. Whoever causes or attempts to cause his name to be registered, knowing that he is not a qualified voter in the place of such registration or attempted registration; whoever registers or attempts to register under a name other than his own; whoever represents or attempts to represent himself as some other per…
Section 9. Whoever refuses to obey the lawful orders or directions of an election commissioner, a registrar or assistant registrar, or interrupts or disturbs the proceedings at any registration shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
Section 10. Whoever wilfully defaces or removes a notice relating to the registration of voters, or a voting list, posted according to law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
Section 11. Whoever falsely makes or wilfully alters, defaces, mutilates, destroys or suppresses a certificate of nomination or nomination paper, or letter of withdrawal of a name from such paper, or an initiative petition or a petition for the submission of a question to the voters, or unlawfully signs any such certif…
Section 11A. Whoever falsely or willfully alters the designation of the district on a nomination paper after the names of voters signed thereto have been certified shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year.
Section 12. An officer of a primary, caucus or convention who knowingly makes any false count of ballots or votes, or makes a false statement or declaration of the result of a ballot or vote, or knowingly refuses to receive any ballot offered by a person qualified to vote at such primary, caucus or convention, or wilfu…
Section 13. A presiding officer at a caucus, primary or state or city election, or at an election in a town or district at which official ballots are used, who, when the right of a person offering to vote is challenged for any legal cause, wilfully or negligently fails to require the name and residence of such person t…
Section 14. A primary, election or other officer whose duty it is to recount the ballots cast at a primary or election, who makes any statement or gives any information in regard to a ballot cast by a voter challenged at such primary or election, except as required by law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than o…
Section 15. A presiding officer who, at a town election at which official ballots are not used, before the polls are closed and without the consent of a voter, reads or examines or permits to be read or examined, the names written or printed on the ballot of such voter, in order to ascertain the persons voted for by hi…
Section 16. A primary or election officer, or a director of the count or assistant appointed under section six of chapter fifty-four A, who wilfully violates any provision relating to the enclosing in envelopes or containers, sealing, endorsing and delivering or transmitting of ballots and voting lists, before or after…
Section 17. A city or town clerk or an election commissioner who examines or permits to be examined, except as required by law, ballots cast at an election, which are received and retained by him under section one hundred and nine of chapter fifty-four, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars.
Section 18. A city or town clerk or an election commissioner who fails to make a record of votes cast at an election and to make and transmit copies of any such record, as required by chapter fifty-four, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars; but if a copy of the records is deposited in the p…
Section 19. A city or town clerk, precinct clerk, election commissioner, mayor, alderman, selectman or other officer, who wilfully signs or issues a certificate not in accordance with the result of an election as appearing by the records and copies of records of votes cast, or by a recount of votes, shall be punished b…
Section 21. Any city or town officer trusted with the execution of the laws relative to absent voting, who wilfully violates any provision thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
Section 22. A public officer, primary, caucus or election officer, director of the count or assistant appointed under section six of chapter fifty-four A, or officer or member of a political committee or convention, upon whom a duty is imposed by law, who refuses or wilfully fails to perform such duty, or who wilfully…
Section 23. Whoever wilfully defaces or removes a notice or warrant for a primary, caucus or election posted according to law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
Section 24. Whoever, before a primary or election, wilfully defaces or destroys any list of candidates posted according to law, or, during a primary, caucus or election, wilfully defaces, tears down, removes or destroys any card of instruction or specimen ballot posted for the instruction of voters, or during a primary…
Section 25. Whoever, at a primary, caucus or election, places any distinguishing mark upon his ballot, or makes a false statement as to his ability to mark his ballot, or allows the marking of his ballot to be seen by any person for any purpose not authorized by law, or gives a false answer to or makes a false oath bef…