A Suffolk Superior Court judge on Monday ruled unconstitutional a state law that forbids people from voting in an election unless theyve registered 20 days before it.
The law denies qualified citizens their right to vote, Judge Douglas Wilkins ruled.
In a lawsuit filed last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and nonprofit Chelsea Collaborative, argued that the law is unnecessary and arbitrary, and that it excluded thousands of citizens from voting.
Wilkins agreed, rejecting the states claim that removing the deadline would impose overly burdensome duties on local election officials.
Eliminating the 20-day requirement would shift their work from one period to another, he wrote, but would not make it impossibly difficult to accomplish the necessary tasks, as shown by the early voting experience in Massachusetts and the election day registration experience in many other states.
Wilkins also wrote that there is no need for additional relief at this point, and said that there would be ample time for legislative review of the registration timeline.
