Massachusetts HD 6256: An Act authorizing ranked choice voting for local elections in the city of Salem

Bill Text

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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6256        FILED ON: 6/29/2026 
HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.          
 
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
_________________ 
PRESENTED BY: 
Manny Cruz and Joan B. Lovely 
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General 
 Court assembled: 
 The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: 
An Act authorizing ranked choice voting for local elections in the city of Salem. 
_______________ 
PETITION OF: 
 
NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED: 
Manny Cruz 7th Essex 6/29/2026 

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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6256        FILED ON: 6/29/2026 
HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.          
[Pin Slip] 
 
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court 
(2025-2026) 
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An Act authorizing ranked choice voting for local elections in the city of Salem. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, as follows: 
 
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 445 of the Acts of 1960, establishing preliminary elections in 
2Salem, is hereby repealed. 
3 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapters 50 through 54 of the general 
4laws, or of any other general or special law to the contrary, election of candidates at municipal 
5elections in the City of Salem shall be conducted using ranked choice voting when there are 
6more than 2 candidates for a single seat office or more candidates than the number of seats for a 
7multiple seat office. 
8 SECTION 3. For purposes of this act, the following definitions shall apply. 
9 a. “Board”, the board of registrars of the city of Salem or other body serving in a similar 
10capacity by whatever name. 
11 b. “Concluded ballot”, a ballot that does not rank any continuing candidate or contains an 
12overvote at the highest-ranked continuing candidate. 

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13 c. “Continuing candidate”, a candidate who has not been defeated or elected. 
14 d. “Highest-ranked continuing candidate”, the continuing candidate with the highest 
15ranking on a voter’s ballot; provided that if a ranking is skipped, the next highest ranking shall be 
16used. 
17 e. “Overvote”, a voter ranks more than 1 candidate at the same ranking. 
18 f. “Ranked Choice Voting” or “RCV”, shall mean an election system in which voters 
19rank the candidates for an office in order of preference. The calculation of election results occurs 
20in rounds in which votes are distributed to candidates according to the preferences marked on 
21each ballot. 
22 g. “Ranking”, the number assigned by a voter to express preference for a candidate, with 
23ranking number 1 as the highest preference; 
24 h. “Repeat candidate ranking,” shall mean when a voter ranks the same candidate at 
25multiple rankings for the contest being counted 
26 i. “Round,” shall mean the sequence of ranked choice voting steps established by sections 
274 and 5 of this act. 
28 j. “Skipped ranking,” shall mean when a voter leaves a ranking blank and ranks a 
29candidate at a subsequent ranking; 
30 SECTION 4. Single-Seat Elections. 
31 a. Each ballot shall count as 1 vote for its highest-ranked continuing candidate for that 
32office. Concluded ballots shall not be counted for that office. 

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33 b. If there are 2 or fewer continuing candidates, the candidate with the most votes shall be 
34elected. 
35 c. If there are more than 2 continuing candidates, the candidate with the fewest votes 
36shall be defeated. 
37 d. The vote tabulation process shall then be repeated, eliminating the candidate with the 
38fewest votes in each round until there are only 2 or fewer continuing candidates, at which time 
39the candidate with the most votes shall be elected. 
40 e. When a ballot has a skipped ranking or repeat candidate ranking for that office, that 
41ballot shall count for its highest-ranked continuing candidate. 
42 f. In the case of an overvote involving two or more continuing candidates, the overvote 
43candidates and all subsequently ranked candidates shall not be counted. 
44 SECTION 5. Multi-Seat Elections. Each round shall begin by counting each ballot, in 
45whole or in part, for its highest-ranked continuing candidate. Concluded ballots shall not be 
46counted for any continuing candidate. In the first round, each ballot shall count as 1 vote for its 
47highest-ranked continuing candidate, and the election threshold shall be determined by dividing 
48the total number of votes in this round by the number of seats to be elected, rounding down to the 
49nearest whole number, and adding one. Each round shall proceed sequentially as follows: 
50 a. If the number of continuing candidates is equal to the remaining number of seats to be 
51elected, all continuing candidates shall be elected, and tabulation shall be complete. 
52 b