Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VIII Chapter 53
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 53, § 22A (2026)

Signing petitions; forms; receipt; filing date

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 22A. The provisions of law relative to the signing of nomination papers of candidates for state office, and to the identification and certification of names thereon and submission to the registrars therefor, shall apply, so far as apt, to the signing of initiative and referendum petitions and to the identification and certification of names thereon, and, except as otherwise provided, to the time of their submission to the registrars. Initiative or referendum petition forms shall be made available no later than the fourteenth day after the date such petitions are filed with the state secretary by the first ten signers; provided, however, that in the instance of petitions filed under the provisions of section three or section four of that part of Article XLVIII of the Amendments of the Constitution under the heading ''THE REFERENDUM. III. Referendum Petitions.'', the petition forms shall be made available no later than the fourteenth day after a summary has been prepared. Registrars shall receipt in writing for each initiative or referendum petition submitted to and received by them, and shall deliver such petitions only on receiving written receipts therefor or other identification acceptable to the registrars. Each initiative and referendum petition shall state the last day and hour for filing such petitions with the registrars and with the state secretary. Certificates showing that each of the ten original signers is a registered voter at the stated address, signed by a majority of the registrars of voters, shall accompany an original initiative or referendum petition. In no case shall any blank forms for such initiative or referendum petitions be larger than eight and one half inches by fourteen inches, nor shall anyone be prohibited from making exact copies of such blanks provided by the secretary of state for the purpose of collecting signatures for such petitions, nor shall any such copies be rejected for certification or submittal to the secretary of state.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1964–2000 · leading case: Hurst v. State Ballot Law Comm'n, 427 Mass. 825 (Mass. 1998).
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Hurst v. State Ballot Law Comm'n, 427 Mass. 825 (Mass. 1998). · cites it 9× “48 and G. L. c. 53, § 22A, because the referendum’s proponents added a preprinted box containing the name of their organization and a return address on the forms; (3) over 17,600 signatures were on forms that improperly contained a hand stamp in blue or red ink with similar…”
Nat'l Academy of Sciences v. Cambridge Trust Co., 346 N.E.2d 879 (Mass. 1976). · cites it 2× “643, 655 (1942), construing the term "fraud" in G.L.c. 53, § 22A, as appearing in St. 1938, c.”
Hurst v. State Ballot Law Comm'n, 428 Mass. 116 (Mass. 1998). · cites it 3× “48 and G. L. c. 53, § 22A, because the referendum’s proponents added a preprinted box containing the name of their organization and a return address on the forms; (3) that some signatures were on forms that improperly contained a hand stamp in blue or red ink with similar…”
Robinson v. State Ballot Law Comm'n, 432 Mass. 145 (Mass. 2000). · cites it 4× “However, we have considered this same language in G. L. c. 53, § 22A, the provision regarding signatures for initiative and referendum petitions.”
Walsh v. Sec'y of the Commonwealth, 430 Mass. 103 (Mass. 1999). · cites it 3× “We read G. L. c. 53, § 22A 5 (exact copy statute), and art.”
Molesworth v. State Ballot Law Comm'n, 200 N.E.2d 583 (Mass. 1964). · cites it 2× “On October 31, 1963, the intervener McGlue and another each filed protests with the Secretary in accordance with G. L. c. 53, § 22A (as amended through St.”
Fyntrilakis v. City of Springfield, 713 N.E.2d 1007 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, and of G. L. c. 53, § 22A, governing referendum petitions, affects the result we reach here.”
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