Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

§
Marginalia
Code · Massachusetts · Part I — ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT · Title IV — CERTAIN WRITS AND PROCEEDINGS IN SPECIAL CASES · Chapter 31

Section 54: Petitions; number of signatures; filing

331 words·~2 min read·/ma/part-i/title-iv/chapter-31/54

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 54. If five per cent or five thousand of the registered voters in a city file with the city clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting the applicability of the civil service law and rules to either or both of the offices specified in clause
(2)of section fifty-one or to any city office as provided in clause
(b)of section fifty-three be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular city election occurring more than sixty days after the filing of such petition.
If five per cent or one thousand of the registered voters in a town authorized under section fifty-two to accept the applicability of the civil service law and rules to the official service or to the labor service, or to both services, or to any one or more of the positions or forces specified in clauses
(a)through
(h)of said section file with the town clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting such applicability to either or both of such services, or to any one or more of such positions or forces, be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular town election occurring more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.
If five per cent of the registered voters in any town file with the town clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting the applicability of the civil service law and rules to a town office as provided in clause
(b)of section fifty-three be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular town election occurring more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.