Important Election Laws Committee Hearing next Wednesday, March 23

The Joint Committee on Election Laws will hold a public hearing next Wednesday, March 23, starting at 1:30 pm in Hearing Room B-1 on HB 1830 that would more than double the required number of signatures for an initiative petition to amend the constitution as well as those required for a referendum to repeal a law.

In the last 93 years since the initiative petition to amend the constitution was established, only 13 petitions succeeded in collecting the required number of signatures (3% of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election). Of the 13, only three ever made it to the ballot because Massachusetts already is the most difficult state in the nation for citizens to amend their constitution. (The Legislature has to approve the proposed amendment in two separate legislative sessions before it can be put on the ballot. No other state has this requirement). Why would anyone want to make the process even more difficult by raising the required number of signatures to 7% ? This is another overreach attempt by the Legislature to throttle the voice and the rights of the people!

We ask you to do the following:

1. Come to the State House on Wednesday to testify against HB 1830. Be sure to arrive by 1:00 pm to sign up to testify.
2. Write out your testimony to submit to the Committee with your verbal 3-minute testimony.
3. If you can’t come to the State House, e-mail your written testimony to us so we can submit it to the Committee. Send it to info@mafamily.org.
4. Call the Election Laws Committee at 617.722.2460 and leave a message in opposition to HB 1830.
5. Email YOUR legislators and ask them to oppose HB 1830. CLICK HERE to send your email.