Section 13. A presiding officer at a caucus, primary or state or city election, or at an election in a town or district at which official ballots are used, who, when the right of a person offering to vote is challenged for any legal cause, wilfully or negligently fails to require the name and residence of such person to be written upon the ballot offered by him, and to add thereto the name of the person challenging and the assigned cause, before such ballot is received, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 56 sec. 13

  • Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
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