PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out Section 53 and inserting in place thereof the following sections:

Section 53. Printing and distribution of a voters’ pamphlet

The secretary of state shall, whenever at least one statewide measure or office is scheduled to appear on the general election ballot, print and distribute a voters’ pamphlet.

The secretary of state shall distribute the voters’ pamphlet to each household in the state, public libraries, public schools, and any other locations he or she deems appropriate, in time to arrive prior to the election. The secretary of state shall also produce taped and Braille transcripts of the voters’ pamphlet, publicize their availability, and mail without charge a copy to any person who requests one.

The secretary of state shall make the material required to be distributed by this chapter available to the public in electronic form of his or her choosing on the secretary of state’s website.

The secretary of state may provide the material in electronic form to computer bulletin boards, print and broadcast news media, community computer networks, and similar services at the cost of reproduction and transmission of the data.

Section 53A. Prohibition against deceptively similar campaign materials.

No person or entity may publish or distribute any campaign material that is deceptively similar in design or appearance to any voters' pamphlet published by the secretary of state during the ten-year period before the publication or distribution of the campaign material by the person or entity. The secretary of state shall take reasonable measures to prevent or to stop violations of this section. Such measures may include, among others, petitioning the superior court for a temporary restraining order or other appropriate injunctive relief. In addition, the secretary may request the superior court to impose a civil fine on a violator of this section. The court is authorized to levy on and recover from each violator a civil fine not to exceed the greater of: (1) two dollars for each copy of the deceptive material distributed, or (2) one thousand dollars. In addition, the violator is liable for the state's legal expenses and other costs resulting from the violation. Any funds recovered under this section must be transmitted to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund.

Section 53B. Contents

The voters' pamphlet must contain:

(1) Requirements to qualify as a voter.

(2) Information about how to register to vote and when and how a voter is required to register or update a registration.

(3) The Voters’ Bill of Rights.

(4) Voter registration forms.

(5) An application form for an absentee ballot.

(6) A sample ballot.

(7) A short explanation of the roles, duties, and area represented for each of the offices listed in subsection (8) of this section.

(8) In even-numbered years, statements, if submitted, advocating the candidacies of nominees for the office of president and vice president of the United States, United States senator, United States representative, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, attorney general, state senator, state representative, governor’s councilor, district attorney, register of probate, county commissioner, county treasurer, register of deeds, and clerk of courts.

(9) In even-numbered years the name, address, telephone number, and information about how to get a ride to the polls, from each political party with nominees listed in the pamphlet, if filed with the secretary of state by the state committee of a major political party or the presiding officer of a minor political party by a deadline set by the secretary of state.

     (10) Information about each ballot measure as provided for in this Chapter, Section 53F.

     (11) Tables of contents, indexes, art work, graphics, and other materials that the secretary of state determines will make the ballot pamphlet easier to understand or more useful for the average voter.

The secretary of state may include in the voters' pamphlet the following information:

(1) Maps showing the boundaries of senatorial and representative districts.

(2) Any additional information that the secretary of state deems informative to the voters.

Section 53C. Contents of Candidate Statements

Candidates eligible for submission of a candidate statement must include the following information preceding their statement:

(1) Name

(2) Place of Residence

(3) Occupation

(4) Occupational and Educational background

(5) Prior government experience

(6) Party preference or independent status where a candidate has expressed such a preference on his or her declaration of candidacy.

Candidates may include for publication a campaign mailing address, campaign office location address, web address, and telephone number. No candidate’s statement may refer to another candidate by name.

Candidates may also submit a photograph not more than five years old and of a size and quality that the secretary of state deems suitable for reproduction in the voters' pamphlet. No photograph may reveal clothing or insignia suggesting the holding of a public office.

Section 53D. Length of Candidate Statements

The maximum number of words for statements submitted by candidates is as follows:

(1) Three hundred words: president and vice president, United States senator, United States representative, and governor

(2) Two hundred words: state senator, and all statewide offices, except that of governor

(3) One hundred words: state representative, and any offices not voted on statewide and not specifically named in this section

Section 53E. Furnishing of voter information to the state secretary

In accordance with deadlines set by the state secretary, the election commissioners in the city of Boston and the registrars of voters in every other city or town shall cause to be sent to the state secretary mailing lists of the voters whose names appear on the latest voting lists of their respective cities and towns, prepared as required by section 55 of chapter 51 and indicating, so far as practicable, those addresses that appear to be group residential quarters, with the number of registered voters residing at each such address, and shall promptly furnish him with subsequent additions to and corrections in such lists.

Section 53F. Ballot measure information guidelines

The secretary shall include in the voters’ pamphlet, with copies of the measures to which they refer, a summary prepared by the attorney general, a ballot question title prepared jointly by the attorney general and state secretary, fair and neutral one sentence statements describing the effect of a yes or no vote prepared jointly by the attorney general and state secretary, and, as provided in section fifty-four, arguments for and against measures to be submitted to the voters under Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution. The secretary shall make available for public examination a copy of such ballot question titles and one-sentence statements describing the effect of a yes or no vote, and shall publish the same in the Massachusetts register on or before the second Wednesday in May. Any fifty voters may petition the supreme judicial court for Suffolk county to require that any such title or statement be amended; provided, however, that such petition must be filed within twenty days after the publication of said title and statement. The court may issue an order requiring amendment by the attorney general and state secretary only if it is clear that the title or one-sentence statement in question is false, misleading or inconsistent with the requirements of this section.

The secretary shall also include in the voter’s pamphlet any question to be placed on the ballot at a biennial state election for the purpose of ascertaining the will of the people upon a particular subject provided that such question is received by the secretary on or before the first Wednesday of July preceding such election. Any such question shall be presented as set forth in this section for measures submitted under Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, provided that the publication and judicial review procedures set forth herein shall be inapplicable where questions are received by the secretary on or after the first Wednesday in May. This section shall not apply to a question of public policy filed in accordance with section nineteen of chapter fifty-three.