Scope and Content: The commission, acting as the State Board of Voting Machine Examiners, was responsible until 1977 for examining and approving all voting machines, ballot boxes, and counting apparatuses and for filing its reports with the state secretary. (Until 1903, approval was by the state secretary, treasurer, and auditor, and for the period 1903-1912 reports were filed by a separate State Board of Voting Machine Examiners.)  These filings include drawings, blueprints, photographs, patents, advertisements, and written specifications of the voting machines submitted to the board by their inventors or manufacturers.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by date filed
Notes: Formerly part of state secretary’s: Miscellaneous collection, boxes 95-95A. –Blueprints removed to: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Maps and plans ((M-Ar)50), no. 4133, 4138, 4146-4148
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Scope and Content: St 1857, c 40 mandated a public series of documents to be numbered separately from the Senate and House series.  These were to consist of the annual reports of public offices, boards or institutions required by law for submission to the General Court or governor and council.  the state secretary was made responsible for their publication and distribution (later, their republication and distribution).  From at least 1892 this responsibility was carried out by the Document Division, know from ca. l921 as the Public Document Division.  In the late l970s that unit was succeeded by the State Bookstore.  Annual reports of state agencies include both published and unpublished documents: how many of the latter have existed in published form is unclear.
Arrangement: In subseries by agency; arranged within each subseries chronologically by year
Notes: Many subseries called numbered item of: Public document (P.D.).
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