An Act enabling cities and towns to extend voting rights in municipal elections to certain noncitizens of the Commonwealth

This bill allows individual cities and towns in Massachusetts to choose whether to let eligible noncitizens vote in local elections. Under the proposed law, noncitizens who are at least 18 years old and living in a participating municipality could register to vote for school committee members, school committee questions, city councilors, and board of selectmen. However, the bill explicitly states that these noncitizen voters would not be allowed to vote for state or federal offices or on statewide ballot measures. The law does not automatically apply everywhere; instead, each city or town must first approve it through its legislative body and then hold a local vote where residents decide if they want to adopt the new voting rules.