Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VIII Chapter 54
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 54, § 87 (2026)

Preparation of absent voting ballots, envelopes, instructions

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 87. Prior to each biennial state election the state secretary shall prepare in such quantities as he may deem necessary the following papers:

(a) Official absent voting ballots, similar in all respects to the official ballot to be used at such election, except that they shall be printed on paper differing in color from that used for official or specimen ballots.

[There is no subsection (b).]

(c) Envelopes of sufficient size to contain the ballots specified in subsection (a) bearing on their reverse the voter's affidavit of compliance with the requirements of section ninety-two.

(d) Envelopes of size sufficient to contain the envelope identified in subsection (c), addressed to the clerks of the several cities and towns within the commonwealth, upon which shall be printed blank spaces for the name, address and voting place of the sender, which shall be filled in by the city or town clerk prior to the mailing of such envelopes.

The state secretary shall furnish such explanatory matter and instructions as he may deem appropriate to carry into effect the purposes of sections eighty-six to one hundred and three, inclusive.

To the extent feasible, the state secretary shall include on the envelopes required pursuant to this subsection a system that generates a postmark for determining the date upon which the envelope was mailed.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1982–1995 · leading case: McCavitt v. Registrars of Voters of Brockton, 434 N.E.2d 620 (Mass. 1982).
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McCavitt v. Registrars of Voters of Brockton, 434 N.E.2d 620 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 54, § 87 (c). Since these ballots did not comply with the statutes, the judge ruled that the rejection of these ballots was proper.”
Roe v. Mobile Cnty. Appointment Bd., 676 So. 2d 1206 (Ala. 1995). “1972) (stating that Maine generally uses a "liberal construction" standard to determine the meaning of the constitutional provisions that relate to the holding of special elections for the enactment or rejection at the polls of measures initiated by the people); Md.”
Colten v. City of Haverhill, 564 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. 1991). “G. L. c. 54, § 87. The inner envelopes used in this election contained preprinted affidavits for both the voter and the witness, as well as spaces in which to provide both parties’ residential addresses.”
Colten v. City of Haverhill, 559 N.E.2d 1253 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). · cites it 2× “The ballot goes into an envelope whose design is prescribed in G. L. c. 54, § 87. That envelope contains the affidavits of the voter and a witness that voting requirements set out in § 92 have been complied with.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 54, § 87(c) — 1 case
Colten v. City of Haverhill, 559 N.E.2d 1253 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). “The ballot goes into an envelope whose design is prescribed in G. L. c. 54, § 87. That envelope contains the affidavits of the voter and a witness that voting requirements set out in § 92 have been complied with.”
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