The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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DEVAL L. PATRICK GOVERNOR TIMOTHY P. MURRAY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Executive Department State House  ·  Boston 02133 (617) 725-4000

February 27, 2008.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

Pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Section 8, Paragraph 1, Clause (2) of the Amendments to the Constitution, as amended by Article LXXXIX, I am filing for your consideration the attached legislation entitled, “An Act Establishing A Voting Precinct In The Town Of Hingham.” 

   Senator Hedlund, Representative Bradley and the Hingham Board of Selectmen have asked that this legislation be filed to permit the town to create a new polling location.  Specifically, this legislation will create an additional polling location at a retirement community, known as Linden Ponds, within a precinct that has increasingly experienced high voter turn-out and subsequent long lines and delay on election days.  Dividing the precinct into two polling locations will ensure that voters are not discouraged by long lines, and it will maximize the community’s participation in democracy. 

To ensure that this legislation is passed in time for the town to establish the new polling location and prepare for the November election, I urge your early and favorable consideration of this bill.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                       DEVAL L. PATRICK,

                                                                                       Governor.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand and Eight.

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An Act establishing a voting precinct in the town of hingham.

        Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, precinct 6 of the town of Hingham shall be 1 precinct for the purpose of forming congressional, representative, senatorial or councilor districts but shall have 2 polling places for the purposes of voting at any state or municipal elections.  One such polling location shall be in Linden Ponds to serve voters residing within Linden Ponds and shall be known as precinct 6A, and the other polling location shall be designated by the Board of Selectmen under section 24 of chapter 54 of the General Laws to serve all others in precinct 6 and shall be known as precinct 6.

SECTION 2.  The board of registrars of voters and the town clerk of the town of Hingham shall take all necessary actions to assure compliance with this act including, but not limited to, assuring the accuracy of the voting lists located at each polling location set forth in section 1. The board of registrars and the town clerk shall divide precinct 6 into subprecincts as set forth in section 1, and only the names of voters who reside in each subprecinct shall appear on the voting list for that subprecinct.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.