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Committee hears bill giving secretary emergency authority to manage elections during crises
Summary
Representative Donato testified in support of H.832, which would authorize the secretary of the commonwealth to implement emergency measures for conducting elections during state emergencies such as severe weather or other events that disrupt voting.
Representative leader Donato told the Joint Committee on Election Laws that H.832 would grant the secretary of the commonwealth clearer authority to adopt emergency measures to keep elections running during declared state emergencies, rather than relying on court intervention.
"Currently, Massachusetts law does not provide a clear process for managing elections in emergency situations," Donato said, noting that the existing option has often been to seek court orders that can be too slow in a fast‑moving crisis. He cited Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the difficulty faced by civilian emergency responders who were deployed and unable to cast ballots; federal rules that allow military absentee ballots to be transmitted electronically do not extend the same accommodation to civilian emergency workers.
Under the bill as described to the committee, the secretary could adopt contingency measures — such as electronically sending absentee ballots to certain displaced civilian emergency workers — when the governor has declared a state emergency and the secretary determines the measures are needed to conduct safe and accessible elections. Donato said similar statutory provisions exist in other states, including New York and New Jersey, which the sponsor said helps avoid last‑minute court filings.
Committee members asked no substantive follow‑up questions documented in the transcript, and no formal committee action was recorded at the conclusion of the presentation.
Ending: Donato urged the committee to support H.832 so the state can implement consistent, statutory authority to manage elections during emergencies without relying solely on court orders.
