Page 12 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022 By Bob Katzen If you have any questions about this week’s report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com or call us at (617) 720-1562 GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList— the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and influence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced writers Keith Regan and Matt Murphy who introduce each article in their own clever and inimitable way. MASSterlist will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: https:// lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/ aPTLucK free subscription, go to: https:// lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/ aPTLucK THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call presents Part 2 of a post-election look at action from 2022 that changed the state’s election laws. Here are the fi ve key 2022 Senate votes on election laws. ELECTION LAW CHANGES (S 2924) Senate 37-3, approved and Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a conference committee version of a bill making permanent the mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House and Senate had approved diff erent versions of the bill and a conference committee hammered out this compromise version which did not include the section allowing same day voter registration that was in the Senate version but not in the House one. The measure requires the secretary of state to send out mail-in ballot applications, with return postage guaranteed, to registered voters before each presidential primary, state primary and biennial state election. It also allows registered voters to re~ Help Wanted ~ ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/RECEPTIONIST The Administrative Assistant/Receptionist for the Public Housing Program serves as a liaison between residents Must be generally knowledgeable about all public housing The Administrative Assistant/Receptionist responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: o Assist with general correspondence, typing, copying incumbent must possess excellent communication skills, both oral and written; have good organizational and typing skills and must be able to multitask in a busy work envi Salary Range $39,000 - $42,000 General knowledge of Public Housing Programs and one year in property management/subsidized housing Please send resume, cover letter to Dean Harris Executive Director, Revere Housing Authority, 70 Cooledge Street, quest a mail-in ballot for all elections in a single calendar year. Other provisions include reducing the registration blackout period from 20 days prior to an election to 10 days; electronic voting options for voters with disabilities and military service members; allowing a voter with disabilities to request accommodations including an accessible electronic ballot application, ballot and voter affi davit that can be submitted electronically; ensuring that non-felons who are incarcerated who are currently eligible to vote are provided with voting information and materials to exercise their right to vote; mandating that felons who are incarcerated but prohibited from voting are notifi ed of their right to vote upon release and given the opportunity to fi ll out a voter registration form; and requiring the secretary of state to conduct a comprehensive public awareness campaign to publicize the new voting and registration options. “This landmark election reform bill will empower voters and strengthen our democracy,” said Sen. Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Senate Chair of the Committee on Election Laws and the co-sponsor of the bill. “In 2020, mail-in and early voting options helped generate record-breaking turnout. It is now time to build on this progress and enact long-lasting voting reforms. The [bill] is a big step in the right direction and will help ensure that every voter can exercise their fundamental right to vote.” “I am so proud that at a time when access to the ballot is under attack in states nationwide, Massachusetts is passing landmark voting reforms to permanently enshrine expansions to voting access in statute and further underscore the commonwealth’s commitment to ensuring all eligible voters can exercise their right to vote,” said Senate Majority Leader Sen. Cindy Creem (D-Newton). “Although I am disappointed same-day registration was not included in the fi nal bill, even with the Senate off ering multiple compromise approaches, I will continue to push for its passage and plan to fi le legislation on the subject going forward.” Opponents say the bill goes too far and does not provide suffi cient safeguards to protect the integrity of the voting process. They argued that universal mail-in voting was designed solely to protect voters during the pandemic and that continuing this forever would cost far too much for smaller towns (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes DROP BOXES FOR VOTERS (S 2545) Senate 13-25, rejected an amendment that would require each city and town to have at least one ballot drop box for voters to deposit their ballots from the day the ballots are printed and available to voters until the polls close on Election Day. The amendment requires municipalities with more than 25,000 voters to provide one drop box per 25,000 voters and requires the boxes to be in a public location that is accessible to voters for at least 12 hours per day. “During the 2020 election, we witnessed how the expanded use of ballot drop boxes provided a safe, convenient and accessible way of voting amid a global pandemic,” said amendment sponsor Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham). “However, in some of our largest cities and smaller towns, drop boxes were not a viable voting option because they weren’t accessible, weren’t open or didn’t even exist. We can fi x that problem setting baseline standards for municipal ballot drop box accessibility.” “Mandating that municipalities maintain one ballot drop box per 25,000 residents would create substantial new costs and obligations,” said Sen. Cindy Creem (D-Newton). “Not only would municipalities have to purchase and deploy the drop box, they would have to devote staff time to the periodic collection of ballots and to collecting ballots on Election Day when they are already stretched thin.” (A “Yes” vote is for the ballot drop box requirements. A “No” vote is against them.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Not yet a senator PERMANENT VOTING BY MAIL OPTION (S 2545) Senate 7-31, rejected an amendment that would allow voters to choose to become a permanent voter by mail for all future elections, a temporary voter by mail for all elections in a calendar year or a temporary voter by mail for one specifi c election. The measure automatically enrolls voters who voted by mail in the 2020 state primary and general election as permanent mail voters. Voters would also have the option to change their status at any time. Sponsor Sen. Becca Rausch said that the state does not require voters to reregister every year and should not require voters to sign up for various voting methods each year. “By allowing voters to choose automatic delivery of a ballot in every election, we tear down unnecessary barriers to exercising the right to vote,” said Rausch. “Every extra step we add to the process of voting— including forcing people to opt into vote by mail annually—places another burden on the voter in their exercising of this fundamental right. Elections must be accessible for all voters, plain and simple. Expanding voting options to include a permanent vote by mail status is one way we can empower voters to exercise their fundamental right to vote.” “We do feel that it is important that each voter opt in to vote by mail on a regular basis [because it] is goanna count for any address change, etc.,” said Sen. Barry Finegold (D-Andover). “People do move and this amendment would have ballots sent to their former address in perpetuity.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Not yet a senator GIVE WORKERS PAID TIME OFF TO VOTE (S 2545) Senate 12-26, rejected an amendment that would require all employers to give each worker two hours of paid time off per election to vote. The employee could use that two hours to vote early in-person, vote by mail or vote on Election Day. The amendment would replace a current law that is narrower and requires the worker to apply for a leave of absence in order to vote and only allows the worker to vote during the two hours after the polls open on Election Day. “Workers should not have to choose between earning a paycheck and exercising their fundamental right to vote,” said sponsor Sen. Becca Rausch. “Where Massachusetts should be a leader in the nation on the issue of granting paid time off to head to the polls, we are notably far behind. Twenty-three other states and the District of Columbia already enacted paid time off for voting, and our commonwealth’s citizens deserve the same.” “I think if we really want to have a discussion about how we really wanna help people that are working two, three, four jobs, we should have that discussion,” said Sen. Barry Finegold. “But I don’t think this [amendment] solves that. There is a problem out there, that we did not have enough people in lower social economic communities take advantage of vote by mail, because they don’t trust the post offi ce and there’s a lot of misconceptions up there. That is something I believe we need to work on, but I don’t think this is gonna be the solution to get people from lower social economic communities to come out to vote even more. I do think that with some of the things we have passed, having a better public relations campaign explaining the benefi ts 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. Lydia Edwards Not yet a senator 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
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