An Act requiring rank choice voting for Senate special elections

This Massachusetts bill requires the use of ranked choice voting for special elections held to fill vacant state Senate seats. When a seat becomes empty due to resignation, death, or other unforeseen reasons, voters will be able to rank candidates in order of preference instead of selecting only one. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the system eliminates the lowest-ranked candidate and redistributes their votes to voters' next choices until someone wins. Additionally, the bill mandates that senators who leave office without valid justification must help fund the special election to fill their vacancy.