The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts believes that voter registration forms should be easily accessible. This means that forms downloaded from the Internet and photocopied forms should be acceptable. The League will advocate for changes in regulations before filing legislation to accomplish this goal. Widespread access to voter registration forms is an important step towards ensuring that all eligible citizens are registered to vote.

Background:  Massachusetts currently requires by regulation that its own voter registration forms be printed on a certain type of paper. Massachusetts is one of only six states that have such a requirement. In addition, these forms may not be reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the Secretary of the Commonwealth nor can they be downloaded from the Internet. This makes it difficult for individuals or organizations to reproduce these forms for voter registration drives. However, Massachusetts does accept downloaded and photocopied versions of the national voter registration form.

Talking Points:

• Massachusetts’s forms should be more readily accessible. Regulations should be changed to allow downloaded and photocopied voter registration forms. Downloaded forms would be of particular advantage to technologically savvy younger voters.

• The ability to download and makes copies of the Massachusetts voter registration forms would aid organizations seeking to do voter registration drives and needing many forms, often in languages other than English.

• Massachusetts accepts downloaded and photocopied versions of the national voter registration form, so it should accept downloaded and photocopied versions of its own form. Some states currently allow voters to download and photocopy their state-specific voter registration forms.

• Accepting downloaded and photocopied forms means the Secretary’s office would likely be able to print far fewer registration forms, potentially saving the state money, especially since the current forms are printed on cardstock.