General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 56 Violations of Election Laws
- Massachusetts General Laws - False listings by registrars, listing board members, police officers or interpreters - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Misconduct of registrars or assistants - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Neglect of duty; registrars or assistants, listing board members, or police officers - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Refusal or neglect to give information to registrars or other authorized persons - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Giving false information - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - False affidavits and oaths - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Aiding or abetting false affidavits or oaths - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Illegal registration - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Misconduct at registration - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Defacing or removing notices or voting lists - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Wilful alteration, mutilation, or destruction of nomination papers, etc.; subscribing to false statements - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - False or willful alteration of district designation on nomination papers - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Misconduct of officers; failure to perform duties - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Challenged ballots; failure to make proper entry - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Protected information; penalties - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Reading or showing names selected on ballots during election - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Improper disposition of ballots and lists - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Unlawful examination of ballots after election - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Failure to make and transmit election records - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - False certificates of election results - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1965, 530, Sec. 2 - Chapter 56, Section 20
Repealed, 1965, 530, Sec.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Misconduct relating to absent voting - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Public officers, election officers, etc.; failure to perform duties - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notices or warrants; defacement or removal - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Lists of candidates; instructions for voters; supplies; defacement or destruction - Chapter 56, 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,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Distinguishing marks; false statements or oaths - Chapter 56, 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...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Illegal voting or attempt to vote - Chapter 56, Section 26
Whoever, knowing that he is not a qualified voter in any place, wilfully votes or attempts to vote therein; whoever votes or attempts to vote...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Absent voting laws; violations - Chapter 56, Section 27
Whoever, not being entitled to vote under the laws relative to absent voting, votes or attempts to vote thereunder or whoever being entitled to vote...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Unlawful distribution of absent voter ballots - Chapter 56, Section 27A
Whoever, at any election at which absent voting is permitted, knowingly and wilfully delivers an absent voter ballot to a voter or other person in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Illegal voting; aiding or abetting - Chapter 56, Section 28
Whoever, at a primary, caucus or election, aids or abets a person who is not entitled to vote, in voting or attempting to vote, or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Unlawful interference with voter - Chapter 56, Section 29
Whoever wilfully and without lawful authority hinders, delays or interferes with, or aids in hindering, delaying or interfering with, a voter while on his way...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Obstruction of voting - Chapter 56, Section 30
Whoever wilfully obstructs the voting at a primary, caucus or election shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Illegal challenges - Chapter 56, Section 31
Any person challenging a qualified voter for purposes of intimidation, or of ascertaining how he voted, or for any other illegal purpose, shall be punished...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Bribery of voter - Chapter 56, Section 32
No person shall, directly or indirectly, pay, give or promise to a voter, any gift or reward to influence his vote or to induce him...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Employers; influencing votes of employees; penalties - Chapter 56, Section 33
No person shall, by threatening to discharge a person from his employment, or threatening to reduce his wages, or otherwise threatening to adversely affect the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Promising public appointments - Chapter 56, Section 34
No person shall, to aid or promote his nomination or election to a public office, directly or indirectly promise to appoint or to secure or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Promising public appointments for political action - Chapter 56, Section 35
No person holding a public office or in nomination for, or seeking a nomination for, or appointment to, an office, shall corruptly use or promise...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Public officers and employees; influencing political action - Chapter 56, Section 36
No person in the service of the commonwealth or of any county, city or town shall use his official authority or influence to coerce the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Public officers and employees; initiative and referendum; promotion or opposition for hire - Chapter 56, Section 37
No member of the general court or paid officer or employee of the commonwealth shall promote or oppose, for a valuable consideration other than reimbursement...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Editorial support; payment for or receipt of payment - Chapter 56, Section 38
No person shall pay the owner, editor, publisher, or agent of a newspaper or other periodical to induce him editorially to advocate or oppose any...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Publishing political advertisements; statement; names; signatures - Chapter 56, Section 39
No person shall publish or cause to be published in a newspaper or other periodical any paid advertisement designed or tending to aid, injure, or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Using names of political parties; restrictions - Chapter 56, Section 40
No organization consisting of two or more persons, other than a political committee duly elected in accordance with law or a corporation organized prior to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2006, 171 - Chapter 56, Section 41
Repealed, 2006,
- Massachusetts General Laws - Unauthorized use of endorsements - Chapter 56, Section 41A
No person shall, in order to promote his success or the success of another as a candidate for nomination or election to any public office,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - False statements relating to candidates or questions submitted to voters - Chapter 56, Section 42
No person shall make or publish, or cause to be made or published, any false statement in relation to any candidate for nomination or election...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Interference with distribution of printed matter - Chapter 56, Section 43
No person shall prevent, hinder or interfere with the lawful distribution of any circular, poster, card, handbill, placard, picture or other printed matter intended to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Use of word “veteran” by candidates - Chapter 56, Section 43A
No person, except a veteran, as defined by section one of chapter thirty-one, who is a candidate for nomination or election to any public office...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Lists of candidates without party designations; distribution - Chapter 56, Section 44
No individual, except as otherwise provided by law, and no non-elected political committee, shall distribute by mail, or otherwise or directly or indirectly cause to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Lists of candidates; distribution; signatures of responsible voters - Chapter 56, Section 44A
No person shall distribute by mail or otherwise, or directly or indirectly cause to be distributed by mail or otherwise, a list or slate containing...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Naturalization fees; payment or promise of payment - Chapter 56, Section 45
No political committee and no person required to file a statement shall make any payment or promise of payment of money to or in behalf...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Disorderly conduct at polling places - Chapter 56, Section 46
Whoever, at a primary, caucus or election, behaves in a disorderly manner, and, after notice from the presiding officer or director of the count, persists...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Disobeying election, caucus or primary officers - Chapter 56, Section 47
Whoever wilfully disobeys any lawful command of an election, caucus or primary officer shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Interfering with election officials - Chapter 56, Section 48
Whoever interferes, or aids or abets any person in interfering, with an election commissioner, city or town clerk, election officer, or director of the count...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Obstructing transmission of ballots or returns - Chapter 56, Section 49
Whoever wilfully obstructs or interferes with the transmission of ballots or returns to or from a polling place or a central counting place shall be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Alteration or removal of ballots - Chapter 56, Section 50
Whoever alters a ballot cast at a primary or caucus or, not being authorized thereto, deposits a ballot in a ballot box, container or envelope...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Tampering with voting machines - Chapter 56, Section 51
Any person who shall tamper with or injure or attempt to tamper with or to injure any voting machine to be used or being used...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Forgery, destruction or defacement of ballots - Chapter 56, Section 52
Whoever wilfully forges or falsely makes the official endorsement on any ballot, or wilfully destroys or defaces a ballot, shall be punished by a fine...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Distinguishing marks on ballots - Chapter 56, Section 53
Whoever places a mark against a name on a ballot not cast by himself, or places a distinguishing mark on a ballot not cast by...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Removing ballots from within guard rail - Chapter 56, Section 54
Whoever removes a ballot from the space enclosed by the guard rail before the close of the polls shall be punished by imprisonment for not...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fraudulent alteration or removal of ballots - Chapter 56, Section 55
Whoever, with intent to defraud, alters a ballot cast at a primary, caucus or election; or, with such intent, deposits a ballot in the ballot...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Challenged ballots; giving information about vote - Chapter 56, Section 56
Whoever gives any information derived from a recount of votes, relative to a ballot cast by a challenged voter at an election, caucus or primary,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Arrest without warrant - Chapter 56, Section 57
Police officers and constables shall arrest without a warrant any person detected in the act of violating any provision of chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Prosecutions; trial and judgments; motions for other dispositions - Chapter 56, Section 58
A prosecution for the violation of any provision of chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive, shall not, unless the purposes of justice require such disposition, be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Supreme judicial court; superior court departments; jurisdiction - Chapter 56, Section 59
The supreme judicial court and the superior court department of the trial court shall have jurisdiction of civil actions to enforce the provisions of chapters...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Conduct contrary to election laws; remedies - Chapter 56, Section 60
Whenever the state secretary determines, after consulting with the local official involved, that a pattern of conduct, or a standard, practice, or procedure of a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1946, 537, Sec. 11 - Chapter 56, Section 61 to 69
Repealed, 1946, 537, Sec.
Last modified: September 11, 2015