H 681 Massachusetts House · 193rd Legislature (2023-2024)

An Act relative to political designations

This bill amends Massachusetts election laws to redefine how political designations are established and maintained for candidates and parties. It requires that any new party or designation approved by voters be expressed in three words or fewer and explicitly bans the use of the term "Independent" for such designations. Additionally, the law mandates that a party will be dissolved and its voters reclassified as "unenrolled" if its registered voter count drops below 0.25% of the total two years after approval. These changes directly affect voters registering with political parties and the administrative processes managed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Feb 2023
Senate Passage
Apr 2024
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2023 Last action Aug 22, 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
6
Key actions
2
Committee
1
Apr 11, 2024
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Committee
Referred to the committee on Election Laws
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Paul Donato
Paul Donato
DDemocratic
MA
35th Middlesex