An Act relative to gender neutral language in elections law
This bill updates Massachusetts election laws to use gender-neutral language, replacing specific male pronouns like "him," "his," and "he" with neutral terms such as "them," "their," and "they." It directly affects the official text of the state's election statutes by amending multiple sections to ensure descriptions of candidates, officials, and roles are inclusive of all genders. The legislation removes gendered terms like "chairmen" and "alderman," substituting them with "chairpersons" and "alderperson" to reflect modern standards of inclusivity. By making these specific word-for-word changes, the bill ensures that election records and legal documents do not assume a male gender for any position or individual.
Bill status
passed
3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Mar 2024
Senate Passage
Feb 2023
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2023
Last action Mar 18, 2024
Floor votes
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Mar 18, 2024
Lower · Passed
Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting
lower
Feb 26, 2024
Lower · Passed
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
lower
Feb 16, 2023
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Committee
Referred to the committee on Election Laws
lower
1 primary · 7 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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