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II. Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 3
SECTION 3: A petition, as hereinafter described, addressed to the board of election commissioners and signed by qualified voters of the city to a number equal at least to ten per cent of the registered voters at the state election next preceding the filing of the petition may be filed with the board of election commissioners not later than five o’clock of the afternoon of the first Wednesday in July next preceding the regular municipal election at which the question proposed by the petition is to be submitted to a vote of the voters, and such petition shall set forth any one of the following questions:
Question One. “Shall the City of Boston adopt the form of government defined as Plan A under the provisions of an act passed by the General Court in the year nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and consisting of a mayor, a city council of nine members elected at-large, and a school committee of five members elected at-large, with all candidates therefor being nominated by preliminary elections?” 6
Results November 8, 1949 | |||
Yes | No | Total | |
146,162 | 73,882 | 220,044 |
Question Two. “Shall the City of Boston adopt the form of government defined as Plan D under the provisions of an act passed by the General Court in the year nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and consisting of a city council of nine members elected at-large, including a mayor elected by and from its members, and a city manager appointed by it, and a school committee of five members elected at-large, with each voter having the right to vote for six members of the city council and three members of the school committee, and with all candidates for said elective offices being nominated by preliminary elections?” 7
Question Three. “Shall the City of Boston adopt the form of government defined as Plan E under the provisions of an act passed by the General Court in the year nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and consisting of a city council of nine members elected at-large, including a mayor elected by and from its members, a city manager appointed by it, and a school committee of five members elected at-large, with all said elective officers being elected by proportional representation?” [Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 3] 8
The petition shall be in the form of separate sheets; and each sheet of said petition shall be in substantially the following form:
To the Board of Election Commissioners, City of Boston:
We, the undersigned, qualified voters of the City of Boston, respectfully petition you to cause to be submitted to a vote of the voters of the City of Boston the following question: (insert one of three questions as set forth above).
To the Board of Election Commissioners, City of Boston:
We, the undersigned, qualified voters of the City of Boston, respectfully petition you to cause to be submitted to a vote of the voters of the City of Boston the following question: (insert one of three questions as set forth above).
CHECK | SIGNATURES (To be made in person with name as registered) | RESIDENCE ON JANUARY 1, 19__ Street and Number, if any | W’d | P’ct | NOW LIVING AT Street and Number, if any | W’d | P’ct |
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Suffolk, ss. Boston, (Date), 19__
The undersigned, being the circulator or circulators of this paper, severally certify, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that the persons whose names are written upon the lines the numbers of which appear opposite our signatures below, signed the same in person.
NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF PERSONS CIRCULATING THIS PAPER | Numbers of Lines Upon Which Appear Signatures as to Which Certification is Made Hereby | |
Name | Address | |
The signature of any petitioner which is not so certified shall not be counted in determining the number of petitioners.
A separate typewritten sheet in substantially the aforesaid form, signed by at least ten and not more than fifteen qualified voters of the city, shall, not earlier than the first Wednesday of February next preceding the regular municipal election at which the question set forth on said typewritten sheet is to be submitted to a vote of the voters, be presented to the board of election commissioners. Within forty- eight hours after the presentation of said typewritten sheet said board shall certify thereon the number of signatures which are the names of qualified voters in the city; and if said typewritten sheet contain the signatures of at least ten qualified voters as aforesaid, said board shall within ten days after the presentation of said typewritten sheet provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, sufficient in number to contain spaces for signatures equal at least to twenty times the number of signatures required as above provided, shall print at the top of each blank the question set forth on said typewritten sheet, together with the names and residences of the certified signers, and shall number each of said blanks consecutively. Said typewritten sheet shall upon presentation be photostated by said board and shall within ten days after presentation be returned by said board to the signers or any one of them, who shall offer said typewritten sheet for filing with the printed sheets as hereinafter provided. The petition shall consist solely of the typewritten sheet and of printed sheets provided by said board as aforesaid.
Such separate sheets, containing at least the required number of signatures of qualified voters as aforesaid, shall not be offered for filing separately but shall be offered as one petition, and when so filed, together the several papers shall be deemed to constitute the petition, and the name and address of the person presenting the same for filing shall be endorsed thereon. The board of election commissioners shall forthwith examine the petition and certify thereon the number of signatures which are the names of qualified voters in the city, except that said board need not certify a greater number of names than is equal in number to twelve per cent of the registered voters at the state election next preceding the filing of the petition, and said board shall attach thereon its certificate showing the results of such examination. The petition shall, when filed, be a matter of public record, but it shall not be open to public inspection until after certification of the signatures thereon. Not later than thirty days after the petition has been filed with them, said election commissioners shall complete such certification. The provisions of law relative to the signing and circulating of nomination papers of candidates for office in the city and to the identification and certification of names thereon and submission to the board of election commissioners therefor shall apply, so far as apt, to the signing of petitions hereunder.
Any petition certified by the board of election commissioners as not containing at least the required number of signatures as aforesaid, or found by the state ballot law commission, upon appeal as provided in section four, not to contain at least said required number of valid certified signatures as herein provided, shall be invalid and insufficient. The board of election commissioners and the state ballot law commission shall receipt in writing for the petition submitted to and received by them and shall deliver the petition only on receiving written receipt therefor. [Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 3]
Notes
6 | Plan A, as noted in the ballot question, is fully described in Acts of 1948, c. 452, ss. 10-20, 53-65, et al., as amended. |
7 | Plan D, as noted in the ballot question, is fully described in Acts of 1948, c. 452, ss. 21-22, 25-52, 53-65, et al., as amended. |
8 | Plan E, as noted in the ballot question, is fully described in Acts of 1948, c. 452, ss. 23-24, 25-52, 66-70, et al., as amended. |
III. Acts of 1991, c. 108
The elected School Committee was abolished and an appointed School Committee was established by St. 1991, c. 108 which was preceded by a nonbinding ballot question on November 7, 1989.
“Should the elected school committee structure be changed to a new seven member school board serving four year terms, appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council from a list of Boston residents selected by a nominating panel comprised of community leaders, parents, educators, business and labor leaders; provided that within eight years after any such change is enacted, voters shall be given the opportunity to evaluate the new governance structure?”
Question 2 Results November 7, 1989 | |||
Yes | No | Total Ballots | |
29,183 | 28,314 | 57,497 |
St. 1991, c. 108 gained its final approval on July 5, 1991. A subsequent ballot question was presented to the voters of the City of Boston on November 5, 1996:
“Shall an act passed in the General Court in 1991, entitled ‘An Act Reorganizing the School Committee of the City of Boston’ be repealed as of January 1998 and in place thereof the school committee structure as existing in 1991 be reconstituted after an election held in 1997?”
Question 2 Results November 5, 1996 | |||
Yes | No | Blanks | Total Ballots |
41,070 | 94,200 | 39,689 | 174,959 |
IV. Ballot Question 1 (2021): Charter Amendment
Section 48 of the Charter, regarding the city’s annual budget process, was amended by a binding ballot question on November 2, 2021. The ballot question was submitted by the Council pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 43B.
In 2020, a City Councilor, in accordance with
G.L. c. 43B, §10(b), filed a written request with the City Clerk to amend the Boston City Charter (Docket #0851). Pursuant to G.L. c. 43B, §10(b), following the filed written request, the Council voted in the affirmative to amend the charter as proposed and the same was sent to the Attorney General’s Office for Constitutional and statutory review. The Attorney General’s Office ruled that provisions of the proposal requiring that the Mayor set aside a portion of the budget in a fund for participatory budgeting conflicted with state law.
In 2021, a City Councilor, re-filed a written request and proposal including the Attorney General’s suggestions
(Docket #0605). The Council voted in the affirmative to amend the charter as proposed and the same was sent back to the Attorney General’s Office for Constitutional and statutory review and no conflicts were found. Following communication from the Attorney General, the City Council President requested the City Clerk share the proposed amendment with the Board of Election Commissioners to mail out to registered voters (Docket #0895).
Question 1: “Shall this city approve the charter amendment proposed by the city council summarized below?
Summary of Proposed Charter Amendment
The proposed amendment to the Boston City Charter would change the City of Boston’s budget process in several ways.
Under the proposed amendment, the Mayor and City Council would hold budgetary powers together, with the power to modify and amend appropriation orders. As is the case now, under the amendment only the Mayor may initially submit a budget or appropriation order. Currently, the City Council can adopt or reject a budget, or reduce specific items in a budget. Under the proposed amendment, the City Council would have the ability to amend the budget by reallocating funds among existing or new line items. The total amount of the City Council’s amended version of the budget, however, could not exceed the total amount of the budget proposed by the Mayor. The Mayor could accept or reject the City Council’s version of the budget, or amend any line item in the City Council’s version of the budget. The City Council would have the ability to override the Mayor’s veto or amendments by a two-thirds vote. In addition, the Mayor and City Council would also be able to amend the Boston Public School budget, subject to existing laws, providing that only the Boston School Committee may originate a school budget or allocate spending within a school budget.
The proposed amendment also requires the City Council and Mayor to create by ordinance an independent Office of Participatory Budgeting, including an external oversight board, to further public engagement with public spending. Under the proposed amendment, the office could create and oversee an equitable and binding decision-making process open to all Boston residents. The structure of the office and oversight board, and the binding decision-making process on the budget, would be described in the future ordinance enacted by the City Council and the Mayor.”
Question 1 Results November 2, 2021 | |
Yes | No |
82,342 | 39,835 |
APPENDIX B
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
CITY OF BOSTON
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
A nomination petition shall be issued only to a person subscribing after the twenty-third Tuesday, and before the nineteenth Tuesday at 5:00 P.M., preceding the preliminary election, in a book kept for the purpose by the election commission, a statement of candidacy in substantially the following form:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
City of Boston
Statement of Candidacy
I, (name with first or middle name in full), under the pains and penalties of perjury declare that I reside at (street and number, if any) in District (number) of the City of Boston; that I am a registered voter of said City duly qualified to vote for a candidate for the office hereinafter mentioned; that I am a candidate for nomination for the office of (Mayor or City Councillor-at-Large or City Councillor representing District (number)) ______; that I request that my name be printed as such candidate on the official ballot to be used at the preliminary municipal election to be held on Tuesday, __________________, 19___, for the purpose of nominating candidates for election to such office; and that I also request that my nomination petition contain the following statement (not exceeding eight words) concerning the elective public offices now or formerly held by me:
___________________________________________
Signature of Candidate
[Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 55 as amended by Acts of 1951, c. 376, s. 2.55 as further amended by Acts of 1983, c. 342, s. 3, as further amended by Acts of 2004, c. 476, ss. 3, 4]
APPENDIX C
NOMINATION PETITION
NOMINATION PETITION
A nomination petition may consist of one or more sheets; but each sheet shall be in substantially the following form.
Every nomination petition sheet shall, before issuance, be prepared by the election commission by printing or inserting thereon the matter required by the first two paragraphs of the [] form [contained in this Appendix]. Not more than three hundred nomination petition sheets shall be issued to any candidate for nomination to the office of mayor under Plan A and not more than one hundred and fifty such sheets shall be issued to any candidate for nomination to the office of city councillor-at-large ... . Not more than twenty nomination sheets shall be issued to any candidate for nomination to the office of district city councillor....No nomination petition sheet shall be received or be valid unless prepared and issued by the election commission; nor shall any such sheet be received to be valid unless the written acceptance of the candidate thereby nominated is endorsed thereon, anything in section three A of chapter fifty of the General Laws to the contrary notwithstanding. [Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 55, amended by Acts of 1951, c. 376, s. 2.55A, amended by Acts of 1983, c. 342, s. 4, and further amended by Acts of 2004, c. 476, ss. 5, 6]
FORM FOR NOMINATION PETITION
IS INCLUDED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
CITY OF BOSTON
NOMINATION PETITION
Whereas (name of candidate) residing at (street and number, if any) in District (number) of the City of Boston, (here insert any lawfully requested statement concerning the elective public offices held by candidate) is a candidate for nomination for the office of (Mayor or City Councillor-at-Large or District City Councillor...), the undersigned, registered voters of the City of Boston, duly qualified to vote for a candidate for said office, do hereby request that the name of said (name of candidate) as a candidate for nomination for said office be printed on the official ballot to be used at the preliminary municipal election to be held on Tuesday, __________, 19__.
Each of the undersigned does hereby certify that he or she has not subscribed (if the petition relates to the office of mayor or district city councillor.... here insert: any other nomination petition for said office; if the petition relates to the office of city councillor-at-large ... , here insert: more than three other nomination petitions for said office).
In case the above-named candidate withdraws his name from nomination or is found to be ineligible or dies, we authorize (names and residences of a committee of not less than five persons) or a majority thereof as our representatives to fill the vacancy in the manner prescribed by law.
SIGNATURE OF NOMINATOR (To be signed by the nominator in person with the nominator’s name precisely as given when the nominator registered to vote) | CURRENT RESIDENCE (If the nominator’s current residence is not the address at which the nominator is registered to vote then the nominator shall complete the column titled “Residence of Registration”) | WARD | PRECINCT | RESIDENCE OF REGISTRATION (If the nominator is not registered to vote at the “Current Residence” then the nominator shall complete this column) |
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
SUFFOLK, ss. Boston,______________, 19____.
The undersigned, being the circulator or circulators of this sheet, severally certify, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that the persons whose names are written upon the lines the number of which appear opposite our signatures below, signed the same in person.
NAMES AND ADDESSES OF PERSONS CIRCULATING THIS SHEET | NUMBERS OF LINES UPON WHICH APPEAR SIGNATURES AS TO WHICH CERTIFICATION IS MADE HEREBY | |
NAME | ADDRESS | |
I hereby accept the nomination.
____________________________________
Signature of Candidate
This nomination petition sheet filed by ______________________
APPENDIX D
FORM FOR ELECTION BALLOTS
FORM FOR ELECTION BALLOTS
On the day of the posting provided for by section [twenty-six C], or as soon thereafter as conveniently may be, the election commission shall draw by lot the position of the candidates on the ballot. Each candidate shall have an opportunity to be present at such drawing in person or by one representative. As soon as conveniently may be after such drawing, the election commission shall cause the ballots to be printed. Said ballots shall, in addition to the directions and numbers provided for by section [twenty-eight], contain, in the order drawn by the election commission, the names posted as aforesaid (except those of candidates deemed under section [twenty-six C] to have been nominated), and no others, with a designation of residence and district and the title and term of the office for which the person named is a candidate, and the statement, if any, contained in his nomination petition concerning the elective public officers held by him. Said ballots shall be official and no others shall be used at the preliminary election. Said ballots shall be headed as follows:
OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION BALLOT Candidates for nomination for the offices of _____________________________ in the City of Boston at the preliminary municipal election to be held on Tuesday, ___________, 19_____. |
The heading of said ballots shall be varied in accordance with the offices for which nominations are to be made. [Acts of 1948, c. 452, s. 58, amended by Acts of 1951, c.376, s. 2.58, and further amended by Acts of 1983, c. 342, s. 8]
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