The Compassionate Care Coalition is collecting signatures from Massachusetts voters to suspend and repeal the state's new late-term abortion law, Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026.
If you are helping collect signatures, following the petition requirements carefully is important. A simple mistake on a petition sheet can make a signature invalid.
Massachusetts Citizens for Life is a member of the Compassionate Care Coalition. This page provides practical instructions for volunteers collecting signatures.
Questions about signing, obtaining sheets or gathering signatures? Contact the Coalition.
Before you collect signatures
Keep these rules in mind when handling petition sheets:
- One city or town per sheet. All voters signing a sheet must be registered in the same city or town.
- Enter the city or town before collecting signatures. The required city or town information appears in three places on the petition.
- Use blue or black ink. The ink should not bleed through the other side of the sheet.
- Keep the petition clean. Do not add stray marks, highlighting, underlining, circles, or other writing.
- Use official petition sheets. Petition sheets must be exact two-sided copies of the official form.
- Do not write in the ward or precinct. This information is not required.
The Coalition's instructions recommend obtaining petition sheets through its distribution points because improperly reproduced sheets can be invalid.
How to fill out the Massachusetts abortion petition
The petition is simple to complete, but there are several details to get right.
What the voter should write
The voter should provide:
- Their name
- Their street address
- Their city or town
The voter does not need to provide a ward or precinct. The name should be legible so that the local clerk can verify the voter's registration.
Do not write in the petition summary
The petition summary should remain clean.
Do not:
- Underline words
- Highlight words
- Circle words
- Add notes
- Scribble on the petition
- Write additional information in the margins
If someone wants more information about the effort to repeal the new late-term abortion law, provide the campaign's fact sheet rather than writing on the petition.
Quick rule: The only writing on the petition should be the voter's name, street address, and the required city or town information.
Who can sign the petition?
Any Massachusetts registered voter can sign the petition, but a voter should sign only once.
Remember that everyone signing the same sheet must be registered in the same city or town.
What if someone signs for the wrong town?
Do not cross out the signature.
The signature will not be valid, but it does not disqualify the entire petition sheet.
The same applies if a voter accidentally signs twice: do not cross out the signature.
How many signatures should go on a petition sheet?
You do not need to fill an entire sheet.
The Coalition recommends collecting approximately 6 to 8 signatures per sheet and then starting a new sheet. This helps protect completed signatures and makes the sheets easier to handle.
Where can I collect signatures?
The Coalition recommends collecting signatures where people gather in larger numbers, including:
- Supermarkets
- Churches
- Post offices
- Town fairs
- Other community events
If you plan to collect signatures at a church, obtain permission first.
What should I do with completed petitions?
Completed petition sheets need to be certified by the appropriate city or town clerk.
The Coalition's current instructions specify Friday, October 23, 2026, as the deadline for certification and recommend submitting sheets as early as possible. After certification, retrieve the sheets and deliver them to your regional captain.
If you have signatures from distant towns, you can give those sheets to your regional captain, who can arrange for certification.
Common petition mistakes to avoid
Before turning in a completed sheet, check that:
- All voters are registered in the same city or town.
- The required city or town information has been entered.
- Names are legible.
- Voters have provided their street address.
- No ward or precinct information has been added.
- Nothing has been highlighted, underlined, circled, or written in the petition summary.
- The petition is an official, properly reproduced two-sided sheet.
- No signatures have been crossed out.
Need petition sheets or want to volunteer?
For the official campaign resources, petition information, volunteer opportunities, and current instructions, visit Repeal188.com.