THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 Page 23 BHRC | FROM PAGE 22 efits of vote by mail, that is how we can get people from lower social economic communities to get out.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico No PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN (S 2545) Senate 38-0, approved an amendment that would require the secretary of state, via digital and social media and other means, to conduct “a linguistically diverse and culturally competent public awareness campaign” to inform voters of the election law changes in the bill. The secretary would also be required to ensure specific outreach is done for groups and communities that have historically underused vote-by-mail and early voting. Sponsor Sen. Becca Rausch said that the bill “contains many significant advancements for voter access that should be celebrated, including expansion of mail-in and early voting, same day voter registration and jail-based voting reforms.” “Simply put, we can’t achieve our goal of expanding ballot box access unless the voters know about these substantial reforms,” continued Rausch. “A culturally relevant and linguistically diverse outreach campaign will support voters in exercising their constitutional right to vote.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes OVERSEAS VOTING (S 2545) Senate 38-0, approved an amendment that would allow Massachusetts residents who are serving in the armed forces overseas and their families as well as any Massachusetts citizen living in a foreign country to cast their vote electronically through a secure online portal. Amendment supporters said that the current process for voting from overseas is complex and burdensome. The voter is required to communicate with their local clerk, receive their ballot, print it out and fax, scan or mail it back. They noted that military members often do not have functioning printers, scanners or fax machines available to them on military installations or are out on missions that take them away from their installations. “When you are in the military, the focus is always on the mission at hand,” said sponsor Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield). “We as a commonwealth have an obligation to make this process as easy as possible so that our military members can exercise their right to vote and get back to their mission. At the most fundamental level, this amendment is about making it easier to vote for those who have given us our right to vote.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of October 4-8, the House met for a total of four hours and 32 minutes while the Senate met for a total of five hours and 40 minutes. Mon. Oct. 4 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:08 a.m. Senate 11:09 a.m. to 11:16 a.m. Tues. Oct. 5 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:37 a.m. No Senate session Wed. Oct. 6 House 11:01 a.m. to 2:44 p.m. Senate 1:17 p.m. to 6:49 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 7 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:11 a.m. Senate 11:22 a.m. to 11:23 a.m. Fri. Oct. 8 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com
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