Cyndi Roy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 23, 2005...A new constitutional amendment giving every Massachusetts voter the right to cast their ballot by mail would increase voter participation and reduce the length of lines on Election Day, its legislative sponsors said Wednesday. The new chairmen of the Legislature's Election Laws Committee said they will sponsor the amendment on behalf of the League of Women Voters, which says allowing all voters to cast absentee ballots will increase turnout and remove obstacles facing anyone with difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day.

Currently, local election officials are encouraged to mail absentee ballots to voters at least three weeks in advance of an election. The proposal could open the door to widespread early voting in Massachusetts. "We want to make Massachusetts on the cutting edge of empowering voters and make voting as open and accessible to all citizens as possible,"  co-chairman Sen. Edward Augustus (D-Worcester) told league members Tuesday during their annual Day on the Hill. Co-chairman Rep. Anthony Petruccelli (D-East Boston) will co-sponsor the amendment.

To amend the Constitution, the Legislature would have to approve the amendment in two consecutive legislative sessions before it would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide. The earliest that could happen is 2008. If it passes, Massachusetts would join 26 states that allow unconditional absentee voting.

The state Constitution currently limits absentee voting to those people out of town on Election Day, disabled and unable to get to the polls, or those whose religious beliefs keep them away from the polls. The amendment would strip the conditions on absentee voting out of the constitution, clearing the way for the Legislature to pass a law mandating unconditional absentee voting and early voting by absentee ballot prior to elections, according to league officials.

The current restrictions on absentee voting are unenforceable, said league President Madhu Sridhar, because there is no way to verify whether voters meet the requirements. "This is not an enforceable law now," she said. "No one is coming to your door to make sure you're out of town." The amendment, Sridhar said, would give parents, election workers, and others who have difficulty voting a chance to cast their ballot at a more convenient time.

Some local officials said they are unsure whether they would support an amendment they said could create additional challenges for city and town clerks. "Right now there are some people who abuse the system," said Judith St.  Croix, town clerk of Wayland and first vice president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association. "It's a big convenience for parents and people who don't want to wait in line, but it's supposed to be for people who are actually out of town. We send these forms all over the country and it can create a real paper nightmare." St. Croix said she had not taken a position on the amendment and would discuss the issue with league representatives at a later date.

The state has seen an explosion of absentee ballot requests in recent years, Secretary of State William Galvin's legal counsel Michelle Tassinari told league members. Last year, the state printed double the amount of absentee ballots it had in 2000, she said. "It becomes a campaign tool for campaigns telling voters to vote by mail," she said. "People don't pay attention to the restrictions." Tassinari said Galvin is reviewing the proposal and has not taken a position on it yet.