§ M.G.L. c. 54, § 25BEarly voting; application for early voting ballots; early voting period, sites and lists; counting of early voting ballots

(a)(1) The election officers and registrars of every city or town shall allow any registered voter qualified under section 1 of chapter 51 to vote early by mail for any municipal preliminary or election or presidential or state primary or election, including any such special preliminary, primary or election, or any primary or election held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator or representative in congress; provided, however, that the select board, board of selectmen, town council or city council of each city and town may, after a public hearing and by recorded and public vote not less than 45 days prior to the date of the preliminary or election, opt out of the provisions of this subsection for any regular or special municipal preliminary or municipal election; provided further, that any registered voter qualified under section 1 of chapter 51 shall be allowed to vote early by mail for any municipal preliminary or municipal election held on the same day as any presidential or state primary or election or any primary or election held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator or representative in congress; and provided further, that this subsection shall not apply to an annual or special town meeting.
(2) Any registered voter wanting to vote early by mail may file with the voter's local election official an application for an early voting ballot for a preliminary, primary or election or for all preliminaries, primaries and elections authorized pursuant to this subsection during the calendar year. Any form of written communication evidencing a desire to have an early voting ballot sent for use for voting at a preliminary, primary or election shall be given the same effect as an application made in the form prescribed by the state secretary. Applications shall be acceptable if they are signed or submitted electronically; provided, however, that any electronic signature shall be written in substantially the same manner as a handwritten signature. No application shall be deemed to be seasonably filed unless it is received in the office of the city or town clerk or registrars of voters before 5 p.m. on the fifth business day preceding the preliminary, primary or election.
(3) A family member of a person qualified to vote early by mail may apply in the manner described under paragraph (2) on behalf of such person. Such applicant shall state the applicant's relationship to the early voter, shall sign the application under the pains and penalties of perjury and shall transmit the application to the clerk of the city or town where the early voter is registered.
(4) A voter wishing to apply to vote early by mail in any presidential or state primary or election or any primary or election held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator or representative in congress and who needs accommodation by reason of disability and is unable to independently mark a paper ballot may apply for such accommodations in a form and manner prescribed by the state secretary. Accommodations shall include, but not be limited to: (i) clear and accessible electronic instructions for completion, printing and returning of the ballot; (ii) an accessible blank electronic application that can be: (A) completed by the voter electronically; (B) signed with a wet signature, a hand drawn electronic signature or the voter's typewritten name as a signature if the voter is unable to independently insert a hand-drawn signature on the application due to a disability; and (C) submitted electronically, by mail or by delivering it, in person or by a family member, to the office of the appropriate city or town clerk; (iii) an authorized accessible blank electronic ballot that can be filled out electronically, printed and signed; provided, however, that the accessible electronic ballot marking system the voter utilizes to access their blank electronic ballot shall not collect or store any personally identifying information obtained in the process of filling out the ballot; (iv) an accessible electronic affidavit that may be used for certification of an accessible electronic ballot and signed with a wet signature, a hand-drawn electronic signature or the voter's typewritten name as a signature if the voter is unable to independently insert a hand-drawn signature on the ballot due to a disability; (v) an envelope to return the ballot to the voter's town or city clerk with postage guaranteed; and (vi) hole punched markers in place of a wet signature required for certification if an electronic affidavit of certification is not utilized. A voter with accommodations in receipt of a ballot pursuant to this section may complete and return the ballot by: (i) submitting it electronically; (ii) delivering it, in person or by a family member, to the office of the appropriate city or town clerk or a secured municipal drop box for the city or town where the voter is registered; or (iii) mailing it to the appropriate city or town clerk; provided, however, that the state secretary shall provide an envelope to allow for returning the ballot pursuant to clause (ii) or (iii).
(5) A voter wishing to apply to vote early by mail in a municipal preliminary or election authorized pursuant to this subsection and who needs accommodation by reason of disability and is unable to independently mark a paper ballot may request an accommodation from their local election official. The request shall be received by the local election official not later than the seventh business day preceding the preliminary or election. Upon receiving such a request from a registered voter by phone or electronically, the local election official shall grant reasonable accommodations to the voter.
(6) The state secretary shall establish, implement and maintain an internet portal on the secretary's website to allow a voter to request an early voting ballot for preliminaries, primaries and elections authorized pursuant to this subsection or an absent voting ballot for primaries and elections authorized pursuant to section 86. The voter shall be able to request that the ballot be mailed to the voter's home address, or a different mailing address as designated by the voter, or provided electronically if the voter is approved to utilize an accessible electronic ballot as an accommodation under paragraph (4). Any request under this paragraph shall not require the voter's wet signature.
(7)(i) Not later than 45 days before any presidential or regular state primary or biennial state election or a primary held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator in congress, the state secretary shall mail to all registered voters who are registered to vote not less than 60 days before such primary or election, at their residential addresses or mailing addresses if different from their residential address listed in the central registry, an application for an early voting ballot for the applicable primary or election and any city or town election held on the same day as such primary or election. The application shall also allow a voter to request an early voting ballot for: (A) the remaining state primary or election in the calendar year; or (B) if applicable, the election held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator in congress. The state secretary need not mail an application to a voter whose previous application for an absent voting ballot or early voting ballot for the applicable primary or election has been accepted.
(ii) Each application mailed pursuant to this paragraph shall: (A) be pre-addressed to the city or town clerk with return postage guaranteed; (B) be provided in any language required by the bilingual election requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. 10503; (C) be in a form prescribed by the state secretary in accordance with state and federal law; (D) include clear instructions for completing and returning the application; and (E) allow a voter to designate the mailing address to which the ballot shall be sent.
(iii) Each application mailed pursuant to this paragraph to a voter in the city of Boston shall include an option, which shall appear prominently on the application, to request a ballot printed in any language available at the voter's polling location pursuant to chapter 166 of the acts of 2014.
(iv) To minimize mailings and costs, the state secretary may seek to include said applications in any other mailings required by this chapter or otherwise issued to such registered voters at such time; provided, however, that such a mailing shall clearly indicate that applications to vote early by mail are contained therein and that any voter who previously returned an accepted application for an absent voting ballot or early voting ballot in the calendar year need not return an additional application for the applicable primary or election.
(v) The applications required pursuant to this paragraph shall be made available on the website of: (A) the state secretary; and (B) each city and town.
(8) The election officers and registrars of every city or town shall include an application for an early voting ballot with the acknowledgment notice sent to any person registering to vote or changing their voter registration address; provided, however, that the application shall be in the form prescribed by the state secretary pursuant to paragraph (7).
(9) Upon receipt of an early voting application, the election officers shall verify the voter's information and, if confirmed, shall record the voter as ''EV'' on the voting list. If the election officers find that the person signing the application is not a duly registered voter or the family member of a voter, they shall send the voter written notice to that effect and shall preserve the application during the time fixed by law for the preservation of ballots cast in the coming election, after which time the application shall be destroyed.
(10) Early voting ballots authorized pursuant to this section shall be mailed by the appropriate local election officials as soon as such materials are available. The mailing of an early voting ballot shall include: (i) instructions for early voting; (ii) instructions for completing the ballot; (iii) an inner envelope where the ballot shall be placed after voting that contains an affidavit of compliance to be filled out by the voter and notice of the penalties under section 26 of chapter 56; and (iv) an outer envelope that is pre-addressed to the local election official with postage guaranteed. To the extent feasible, the state secretary shall include on the outer envelope a system that generates a postmark for determining the date upon which the envelope was mailed.
(11) Early voting ballots authorized pursuant to this section shall be provided to the voter in the language required pursuant to clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (7).
(12) The provisions of section 81 relative to spoiled ballots shall apply to early voting ballots under this section; provided, however, that a request for a substitute ballot from a voter who has received a ballot by mail shall not be valid unless it is accompanied by the spoiled ballot and received in the office of the city or town clerk or the registrars before 5 p.m. on the fifth day preceding the election for which such substitute voting ballot is requested.
(13) An early voting ballot received by mail may be returned by the voter or a family member by: (i) delivering it in person to the office of the appropriate city or town clerk; (ii) delivering it to an early voting location for the appropriate city or town during the early voting in-person hours; (iii) dropping it in a secured municipal drop box for the city or town where the voter is registered; or (iv) mailing it to the appropriate city or town clerk.
All early voting ballots submitted by mail, delivered in person to the office of the city or town clerk, returned to a secured municipal drop box for the city or town where the voter is registered or returned electronically pursuant to the accommodations granted to a voter by reason of disability under paragraph (4) shall be received by the city or town clerk before the hour fixed for closing the polls on the day of a preliminary, primary or election; provided, however, that an early voting ballot mailed on or before the day of a biennial state election shall be accepted until 5 p.m. on the third day after the election and shall be processed in accordance with section 95. A postmark, if legible, shall be evidence of the time of mailing.
(14) Upon receipt of a completed early voting ballot, the local election official shall open the outer mailing envelope and examine the inner secrecy envelope without opening it, compare the signature thereon with the signature on the application therefor, except if a family member signed the application or the voter received assistance in signing the application or the envelope, and examine the affidavit on each such envelope. If the affidavit has been improperly executed or does not sufficiently indicate that the ballot was marked and mailed or delivered as required by this section, the local election official shall mark across the face thereof ''Rejected as defective'' and shall notify the voter and send the voter a new ballot. If the early voting ballot is accepted, the local election official shall record the date and secure the ballot in its envelope until processing in accordance with law.
(b)(1) The local election officers and registrars of every city or town shall allow any registered voter qualified under section 1 of chapter 51 to vote early in person for any: (i) presidential or state primary or biennial state election or primary or election held pursuant to section 140 to fill a vacancy for senator or representative in congress; and (ii) city or town election held on the same day as a primary or election enumerated in clause (i). Any voter wishing to vote early in person in such primaries or elections may do