Agenda Text
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Election Commissioner responding to #209609 re: removing voters from the voter roles for failure to complete the 2020 census.
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Official Text
To the Honorable City Council:
In response to your agenda item #209609, the request of the City Council that the Election Commissioner provide a written explanation of the practice of dropping voters from the voter rolls for failure to complete the 2020 census, and whether this practice is in line with state and federal regulations for maintaining voter rolls, I submit the following:
The practices and procedures we follow for maintaining accurate voting lists to the best of our ability is based on Massachusetts General Laws chapter 51, sections 37, 37A, and 38.
Every January we send a census form to every household. After several months, we send a second census form to non-respondents. In June we send a final postcard to non-respondents.
If a voter does not answer, their name is placed on the Inactive Voting List. If the voter comes to vote on Election Day, they sign an affidavit that they still live here, show proof of residence, and their name is restored to the active voting list and they are allowed to vote.
If a voter does not answer a census or vote for two federal elections, they are deleted from the voting list. This is a procedure to keep the voting list as clean and accurate as possible.
If the voter still lives in Somerville and goes to vote after removal from the voting list, they sign the affidavit that they still live here, show proof of residence, and their name is restored to the active voting list and they are allowed to vote. Their right to vote is protected.
Respectfully submitted,
Nick Salerno
Election Commissioner