Massachusetts Legislative Update

October was one for the books as the Senate made history with the passage of the VOTES Act! On October 6th, we voted and passed this major election reform bill known as the VOTES Act. We now wait for the bill to be brought to the floor in the House. As Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, I’m proud to have led the work on this landmark election reform bill, which makes vote-by-mail, early voting, and same-day registration permanent in Massachusetts. With the record voter turnout in the 2020 election, we must build on this momentum and have as many people as possible exercise their fundamental right to vote. While other states across the country are making it harder for people to cast ballots, our state is striving to protect and expand voting rights.

We continued to keep busy with two major hearings for the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity. Our hearings largely focused on data privacy, an important issue before the committee. We heard testimony from key stakeholders and experts on ways that Massachusetts can be protecting its citizens from data misuse. We also have several bills before the committee on broadband and digital equity, which has become a priority over the past couple of years as so much of our lives have moved online. We look forward to continuing working with experts, advocates, and organizations to find ways to improve digital equity so that all residents may have internet access.