BOSTON– Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate recently passed S.2545, An Act fostering voter opportunities, trust, equity, and security, also known as the VOTES Act. This comprehensive voting reform bill permanently codifies the popular mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020. The bill would also enact same-day voter registration, increase ballot access for service members serving overseas, and make a series of other improvements to the Commonwealth’s election administration process.  

“As one of the very first co-sponsors of this legislation, I am very proud of the Senate’s recent action to pass the VOTES Act,” said Senator DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. "This bill will prove to be critical in expanding voting access across the Commonwealth by making several COVID-era voting provisions permanent, including expansions to early voting, vote-by-mail, and absentee ballot access. Additionally, the legislation takes a historic step to implement same-day voter registration and will ensure greater voting access to all eligible voters. These are all policies that I have long supported, and I am very pleased that the Senate has affirmed our commitment to making voting easier and more accessible for all.”  

Responding to trends in voting and building off previous actions taken by the Legislature, the VOTES Act contains the following key provisions: 

Same-Day Voter Registration 

·         Individuals would be able to register to vote during early voting periods or on the day of a primary or election. 

·         Twenty other states and the District of Columbia already use same-day registration. 

Early Voting In-Person 

·         The bill would require two weeks (including two weekends) of early voting in-person for biennial state elections and any municipal elections held on the same day. 

·         The bill would require one week (including one weekend) of early voting in-person for a presidential or state primary and any municipal elections held on the same day. 

·         The bill would allow municipalities to opt-in to early voting in-person for any municipal election not held concurrently with another election. 

Permanent No-Excuse Mail-In Voting 

·         The bill would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to send out mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters on July 15 of every even-numbered year; the Secretary of the Commonwealth would have the option to include these applications as part of mailings already required to be sent by the Secretary. 

·         As in 2020, postage would be guaranteed for mail-in ballot applications and ballots. 

·         As in 2020, mail-in ballots would be accepted for a biennial state election if mailed on or by election day and received by 5PM on the third day after the election. 

Additional Flexibility For Local Officials 

·         The bill would give municipalities the option to set up secure drop boxes for mail-in ballots. 

·         The bill would allow election officials to pre-process mail-in and early voting ballots in advance of Election Day. 

·         The bill would give municipalities discretion as to the use of a check-out list at a polling location. 

Accommodations For People With Disabilities 

·         The bill would allow a voter with disabilities to request accommodations from the Secretary of the Commonwealth to vote by mail for state elections. 

·         Accommodations would include: electronic and accessible instructions, ballot application, ballot, and a voter affidavit that can be submitted electronically. 

Jail-Based Voting Reforms 

·         The bill would help ensure that individuals who are incarcerated who are currently eligible to vote are provided with voting information and materials to exercise their right to vote in every state primary and election. 

·         Through inclusion of an amendment, the bill would ensure that individuals who are incarcerated are properly notified of their right to vote upon release and given the opportunity fill out a voter registration form 

Joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) 

·         The bill would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to enter into an agreement with ERIC no later than July 1, 2022. 

·         Thirty other states have already joined ERIC, which helps states keep more updated and accurate voting registrations to ensure voting integrity

The Senate also unanimously approved an amendment to the VOTES Act targeting vote-by-mail ballot access by U.S. service members residing overseas and allowing for them to cast their vote electronically. 

The bill, through inclusion of an amendment, would also instruct the Secretary of State to conduct a comprehensive public awareness campaign to highlight the new voting and registration options. 

This vote follows previous action by the Legislature to temporarily extend vote-by-mail and early voting options through December 15, 2021. 

The VOTES Act now advances on to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for further consideration. 

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BOSTON– Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate recently voted to pass Senate Bill 298, An Act to promote student nutrition, which would ensure that more children in Massachusetts have access to nutritious school meals. This legislation would require schools and districts where a majority of students are low-income to enroll in federal programs—known as the Community Eligibility Provision and Provision 2—that allow them to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. In addition to providing universal meals, these programs reduce administrative burdens for schools. 

Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico, a longtime champion for food security and the Commonwealth’s children and families, spoke on the floor of the Senate in support of the bill during the Senate’s debate of the bill. “We live in a wealthy state but there are haves and have nots. There are students in our communities whose last meal was lunch the day before. We have parents in food lines making tough choices between feeding their kids, paying for prescriptions, and paying rent", DiDomenico stated. “We can have the best schools and teachers but if our kids come to school hungry, they are not ready to learn.” 

The legislation minimizes families’ meal debt by requiring school districts to maximize federal revenues and directing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to assist them in doing so. When students do accrue debt, it requires school districts to determine whether they are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals. 

Finally, An Act to promote student nutrition prohibits schools from targeting students who carry meal-related debt with punitive practices such as withholding report cards and transcripts, preventing students from graduating or walking at graduation, barring students from participating in no-fee extracurricular events like field trips, or throwing a child’s hot meal away and replacing it with an inferior meal. 

This legislation returns to the House of Representatives for further action before heading to the Governor’s desk.  

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BOSTON–On Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate voted to pass Senator Sal DiDomenico’s bill, An Act relative to healthy youth, (S.2534). This bill will ensure that Massachusetts public schools electing to teach sex education curriculum use age-appropriate, medically accurate, and research-based information that covers a comprehensive range of topics. The legislation also calls for sex education to be inclusive and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

"I am very proud that the Massachusetts Senate has again reaffirmed our commitment to this commonsense health policy that will ensure your people have the tools needed to protect their health and form respectful relationships", said Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico. "This legislation makes it clear that sex education in the Commonwealth must be inclusive for all students and emphasize the importance and necessity of consent. I would like to especially thank the many advocates who have partnered with us on this legislation and worked tirelessly to ensure Massachusetts youth have the information they need to build the bright futures they deserve–– without shame or judgement.” 

Currently, public schools in the Commonwealth that choose to teach sex education are not required to use or adhere to a specific sexed curriculum. While some schools provide comprehensive and effective sex education, others teach outdated and abstinence-focused programs, including curricula that ignores LGBTQIA+ health and critical lessons on consent. This has led to a patchwork of sexual education programs across the state. The Healthy Youth Act (S.2534) aims to change this by requiring school districts that offer sec education to follow certain guidelines when selecting a curriculum. This is vital to ensuring that students throughout the state are provided with age-appropriate, medically accurate, and comprehensive information, including topics on:  

• the benefits of delaying sex; 

• human anatomy, reproduction, and sexual development; 

• effective contraceptive use; 

• prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); 

• relationship and communication skills to form healthy relationships; 

• coverage of affirmative, conscious and voluntary consent; and 

• age-appropriate information about gender identity and sexual orientation, including resources that offer support to LGBTQ students. 

 The bill does not require public schools to teach sex education but sets curriculum guidelines for those that do. This legislation also protects and enhances parents’ right to remove their children from all or part of the sex education program if they choose to do so–– an action already protected by state law. Additionally, this bill updates parent-notification guidelines for districts that choose to teach sex education curriculum and requires schools to send notice to parents in English and in other commonly spoken languages in the district. Notice would alert parents that their child is enrolled in a sex-education course and would inform them of their right to review the curriculum or opt their child our of some or all of the lessons.  

 Now in its 10th year, the Healthy Youth Act has been passed by the Senate several times over in previous legislative sessions. The most recent iteration of the bill incorporates additional feedback from experts, educators, and advocates, and was co-sponsored by seventy representatives and twenty-four senators.  

On Thursday Senator DiDomenico spoke on the floor of the Massachusetts Senate stating, “every school year that goes by where transgender youth do not see themselves reflected in their curriculum, we are failing. Every year that any cohort of seniors goes off to college without having received vital lessons on consent, respect, and bodily autonomy, we are failing.” He went on to add, “enough is enough, it is time for us to pass this bill and sign it into law.” 

Sex education programs have repeatedly been shown to work best when they emphasize the value of delaying sex, while also teaching students about the importance of protecting themselves from unintended consequences. As demonstrated by numerous studies, comprehensive sex education programs have been proven to delay the initiation of sex, increase use of contraception, lower the rates of STIs and unintended pregnancy among teens, and reduce reported levels of bullying towards LGBTQ youth in school.  

A 2018 poll conducted by EMC Research showed overwhelming bipartisan support for sex education in Massachusetts, with 92% of likely voters agreeing that students should receive sex education in high school, and 89% of likely voters agreeing that sex education should include comprehensive information, such as how to build healthy relationships and understand consent.  

The bill now moves on to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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