Integrity of State Ballot Question Petitions

To ensure the integrity of state ballot questionpetitionsinthe process of submission to local election officials and filing with the Secretary of the Commonwealth pursuant to Amended Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, and with reference to the holdings in Hurst v. State Ballot Commission, 427 Mass. 825 (1998), and Walsh v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 430 Mass. 103 (1999), state ballot question petitions shall not be a public record in the possession of local election officials. Such petitions shall not beapublicrecordin the possession of the Secretary of the Commonwealth until after the filing deadline set forth in the Massachusetts Constitution and a reasonable time for processing by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Prior to the deadline for filing state ballot question petitions with the Secretary of the Commonwealth as set forth in the Massachusetts Constitution, the names and addresses of the additional signers shall not be disclosed by either local election officials or the Secretary of the Commonwealth. In no event shall the state ballot question petitions be open for public inspectionuntil the Secretary has provided the first ten signers with a final official count ofthe number of certified signatures. 48.08: continued Processing by the Secretary of the Commonwealth includes determining the total number of certified signatures, disallowed signatures, and disqualified signatures, pursuant to 950 CMR 48.07 et seq.