Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth
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The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth (equivalent to the Secretary of State) is the principle public information official in the state of Massachusetts.
The current officeholder is William F. Galvin.
Divisions
Divisions of the Secretary of Commonwealth include:
- Address Confidentiality Division
- Citizen Information Service
- Corporations Division
- Elections Division
- Massachusetts Archives
- Public Record/Lobbyist
- Registry of Deeds
- Securities Division
- State Records Center
Role in the initiative process
Massachusetts is one of the few state whose guidelines do not require proponents to file initiatives with the secretary of commonwealth first. In this state, one must first assemble 10 registered electors to sponsor a ballot. Then, with the full text of the ballot in had, they must arrive at the Election Commission or the board of registrars to file the petition. This must be done by the first Wednesday of August.
After the proponents have proven that they are registered voters, the attorney general will write a summary for the ballot and have it returned to the proponents. This is when the secretary of commonwealth file both the ballot language and the summary of the ballot. The secretary will then prepare blank petition forms with the summary printed on it for signature gathering. These forms will be available within 14 days of the submission. In order to pick these petition forms up from the printer, proponents must have an authorization slip from the secretary of commonwealth. Enough petition forms will be supplied to gather more than the required amount, but petitioners may print as many extra copies as they like.
Signature Verification
Signatures must be filed by the first Wednesday of December. After the necessary number of signatures have been certified and subsequently filed with the secretary of the commonwealth, the secretary transmits the initiative petition to the House Clerk for legislative action on the first legislative day of the year.
Contact Information
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Elections Division
McCormack Building, Room 1705
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Telephone: (617) 727-2828
Toll-Free: 1-800-462-VOTE (8683)
Fax: (617) 742-3238
Email: elections@sec.state.ma.us
See also
- Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth William F. Galvin
- Massachusetts Governor
- Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor
- Massachusetts Attorney General
External links
Office of Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth
References
Portions of this article were adapted from Wikipedia.
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