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Bill

S 502

Relates to retaliatory actions by employers against employees for certain disclosures

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Tony Palumbo

Requires a separate secrecy envelope for mail ballots and prints the voter's mailing address on the return envelope to prevent lost ballots and protect ballot secrecy.

REFERRED TO LABOR
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 502

Summary — S 502 (2025): Establishing the right to a secret ballot for vote‑by‑mail voters

Status: Referred to Labor (bill introduced Feb 10, 2025; filed Jan 14, 2025 as Senate Docket No. 840). Hearing scheduled 06/17/2025 (per Legislative Actions).
Classification: Bill

Purpose

The bill seeks to preserve ballot secrecy for voters who cast ballots by mail and to reduce the risk that properly completed mail ballots are lost or returned undeliverable. It does so by changing the packaging and addressing of vote‑by‑mail materials.

Key provisions

  • Require that each vote‑by‑mail packet include a separate sealed “secrecy envelope.” Voters would:
    • Complete their ballot,
    • Place it into the secrecy envelope and seal it,
    • Place the sealed secrecy envelope inside the existing signed return envelope that is returned to the clerk.
    • The voter would continue to sign the outer return envelope for signature verification.
  • Require the voter’s mailing address to be printed (or otherwise provided) on the return envelope in addition to or instead of the resident address currently used, so that if the return envelope cannot be delivered to the town clerk’s office (for example, if the clerk’s address is unreadable), the envelope can be returned to the voter for correction or redelivery rather than being lost and not counted.

Who would be affected

  • Primary: Voters who use vote‑by‑mail/absentee ballots (both permanent and temporary mail voters).
  • Administrative: Town/city clerks, local election officials, ballot printers and fulfillment vendors, and postal service operations involved in ballot delivery/return.
  • Indirect: Candidates and campaigns (through any changes in ballot processing and potential turnout impacts).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced in the Senate and read twice on February 10, 2025; referred to relevant committees (records show referrals to Labor and Election Laws and notation of Finance committee activity).
  • A public hearing was scheduled for June 17, 2025 (per legislative actions).
  • Related/preceding docket numbers: SD 840 (replaces), S 8842 (prior session).

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Benefits: Reinforces ballot secrecy by separating the identifying signature from the ballot itself; reduces the chance that ballots are permanently lost due to undeliverable return envelopes by enabling return to the voter for correction.
  • Administrative/fiscal impacts: Minor to moderate additional costs for printing secrecy envelopes and modifying return envelopes and instructions; operational changes and staff training for processing sealed inner envelopes and any new address-handling procedures.
  • Privacy/security considerations: The outer envelope already contains identifying information (signature and address). Requiring the voter’s mailing address on the return envelope may raise questions about which addresses are printed and how voter privacy is protected; implementation details (what address is shown to whom, how returned envelopes are handled) would determine privacy and chain‑of‑custody implications.

Sponsors and related documents

Sponsors listed in the bill materials include (as provided): Richard J. Durbin (primary) with several cosponsors. See Senate Docket No. 840 for original filing and S 8842 (prior-session) as related prior legislation.

This summary focuses on the bill’s substantive changes to vote‑by‑mail procedures: adding a secrecy envelope and including a voter mailing address on the return envelope to protect ballot secrecy and reduce ballot loss.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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