BOSTON–Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed legislation to expand voter access and address safety for all remaining 2020 elections, including the September 1, 2020 state primary and November 3, 2020 general election, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The bill, An Act relative to voting options in response to COVID-19, would, for the first time in state history, give all eligible residents the opportunity to vote early for the state primary and general election, allow residents to vote-by-mail, and expand absentee ballot access.  

“Ensuring that we have safe, inclusive, and accessible elections is always of the highest importance, but especially critical as we face the COVID-19 crisis,” said Senator DiDomenico. “I am proud that we have unanimously passed a comprehensive bill that will allow voters-- for the first time ever-- to cast ballots by mail, vote early, and safely vote in person, as well as give our local election officials the tools they need to successfully run our fall elections. I am also pleased that we were able to adopt a number of amendments that will ensure there is a strong public awareness campaign on these election changes to help educate and empower voters ahead of the 2020 elections and help drive turnout.” 

The bill does the following: 

• Implements an early vote-by-mail system: An application to receive an early voting ballot will be mailed to all registered voters by July 15, 2020. The Secretary will then mail another application for the general election in the voter booklet sent out in the fall.  Both applications and ballots will be postage paid.

• Creates early voting for the primary and expands early voting periods: For the first time in Massachusetts, early voting will be available for the state primary, to take place from Saturday, August 22, 2020 through Friday, August 28, 2020. Early voting for the general election would take place from Tuesday, October 17, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020. Early voting hours would vary according to the size of the municipality in order to give voters ample opportunity to participate while not overburdening small towns’ election departments. Voters may return their early voting ballot in the mail, in a secure drop box, or in person. 

• Tasks the Secretary of State with creating an online portal: The bill requires Secretary Galvin’s office to create an online portal by October 1, 2020 to make it as easy as possible for people to apply for general election early voting ballots electronically. 

• Expands absentee voting: The bill provides for absentee voting by any person taking precautions related to COVID-19. Voters may also return absentee ballots via a secure drop box.

• Provides tools to assist clerks: Acknowledging the increased burden these options may place on municipalities and clerks, the bill also provides for several accommodations to make the logistics of processing votes easier. The legislation allows for tabulating ballots prior to election day, and it offers pre-addressed envelopes to voters, so their applications go directly to their clerk’s office.

• Makes in-person voting more efficient: The bill allows municipalities to consolidate polling places and eliminate the check-out table at these locations, allowing for a more efficient process and fewer poll workers. It also expands who is eligible to serve as a poll worker, knowing that many current volunteers are seniors who may feel less comfortable working in public during COVID-19. 

The legislation must now be reconciled with the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  

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BOSTON­– Senator Sal DiDomenico recently announced that his amendment providing $5 million for the development of a common application for MassHealth enrollees to more easily access the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was included as part of the Senate’s General Governmental Bond Bill. DiDomenico has been longtime champion of food security in the Commonwealth and has been filing legislation for years to streamline the process for individuals and families applying for federal SNAP benefits.

“I am very pleased that my amendment was included as a key component of the General Governmental Bond Bill,” said Senator DiDomenico. “As more individuals and families become unemployed and lose private health insurance, they will undoubtedly need both health care and nutritional benefits. This $5M will go a long way towards making the common application I have been advocating for a reality and will play a crucial role in helping to connect people with the food resources they need.” 

Senator DiDomenico is the lead sponsor of An Act improving public health through a common application for core food, health and safety-net programs, also known as the SNAP Gap bill. The SNAP Gap refers to the over 700,000 people who are MassHealth recipients and likely eligible for SNAP but are not receiving nutritional benefits. MassHealth and SNAP, as well as many other safety-net programs, use separate application processes that ask for similar information. This duplicates efforts and creates more work for both the state and low-income consumers.

DiDomenico’s bill would create a common application portal to let low-income households apply for MassHealth and SNAP at the same time, thereby consolidating the application process and raising awareness of SNAP eligibility. This bill would help more low-income students access free school meals, increasing food access for over 100,000 Massachusetts elders, and help more families meet their basic needs. 

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BOSTON– Senator Sal DiDomenico recently announced the passage of legislation to expand voter access and ensure voters have safe voting options for all remaining 2020 elections, including the September 1, 2020 state primary and November 3, 2020 general election, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. An Act relative to voting options in response to COVID-19 has now been signed by Governor Baker.

The legislation, for the first time in state history, would establish a vote-by-mail option and early voting period for the upcoming fall elections. In addition to those options, the bill also addresses polling place safety for those who choose to cast their ballots in person. 

“Ensuring that we have safe, inclusive, and accessible elections is always of the highest importance, but especially critical as we face the COVID-19 crisis,” said Senator DiDomenico. “I am proud that, as a Legislature, we have now passed comprehensive legislation to allow voters-- for the first time ever-- to cast ballots by mail, vote early, and safely vote in person, as well as give our local election officials the tools they need to successfully run our fall elections.” 

The components of the bill are as follows:

Implements an early vote-by-mail system: An application to receive an early voting ballot for the primary will be mailed to all registered voters by July 15, 2020. The Secretary will then mail another application for the general election by September 14, 2020.  Both applications and ballots will have postage costs already paid for. 

Ballots postmarked on or before November 3, 2020 will be counted until Friday November 6, 2020 at 5.PM. Applications for early voting and absentee voting must be received 4 business days before the election, by Wednesday August 26 2020 (for the primary) and Wednesday Oct. 28 2020.

Creates early voting for the primary and expands early voting periods: For the first time in Massachusetts, early voting will be available for the state primary, and will take place from Saturday, August 22, 2020 through Friday, August 28, 2020. Early voting for the general election is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, October 17, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020.

Makes in-person voting safer and more efficient: The bill allows municipalities, with proper notice, to consolidate polling places and eliminate the check-out table at these locations, allowing for a more efficient process and fewer poll workers. It also expands who is eligible to serve as a poll worker, knowing that many current volunteers are seniors who may feel less comfortable working in public during COVID-19.

Provides tools to assist clerks: Acknowledging the increased burden these options may place on municipalities and clerks, the bill also provides for several accommodations to make the logistics of processing votes easier. The legislation allows for tabulating ballots prior to election day, and it offers pre-addressed envelopes to voters, so their applications go directly to their clerk’s office.

Tasks the Secretary of State with creating an online portal and promoting voting options: To make it as easy as possible for people to apply for general election early voting, the bill requires Secretary Galvin’s office to create an online portal not later than October 1, 2020. Electronic applications for early voting will be available for the general election, and if feasible, for the primary election.

The bill also requires the Secretary of State to conduct a public awareness campaign to inform and notify voters of the many options available to cast a vote in upcoming 2020 elections.

The legislation now moves on to the governor for consideration.

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