Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 3, § 4 (2026)
Unlisted person may present certificate or evidence of election
✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 4. A person having a certificate or other documentary evidence of his election as a representative who is not named on said lists may, after the house has been called to order, present such certificate or evidence to the presiding officer, or to the speaker if one has been chosen, who shall communicate the same to the house for its action thereon; but such person shall not take a seat as a member until permitted by the house.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2
cases, 1925–2003 · leading case: Madden v. Bd. of Election Commissioners, 146 N.E. 280 (Mass. 1925).
Madden v. Bd. of Election Commissioners, 146 N.E. 280 (Mass. 1925). “It is provided by G. L. c. 3, § 4, that “A person having a certificate or other documentary evidence of his election as a representative who is not named on said lists may, after the house has been.”
Wheatley v. Sec'y of the Commonwealth, 792 N.E.2d 645 (Mass. 2003). “of directing the attention of the House of Representatives to the question whether the intervenor is entitled to be declared a representative”); G. L. c. 3, § 4. The House, and only the House, has jurisdiction to resolve such a claim.”
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