Massachusetts residents who have not yet voted early in person or through mail-in balloting will go to the polls on Tuesday in the statewide general election.
Voters who are voting in person on Tuesday are urged to leave a bit of extra time, given that there are a record-tying nine ballot questions to go along with statewide races for Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and State Treasurer, as well as races for U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative and local state legislators.
This fall, Patch had a series of stories laying out the arguments for and against many of the ballot initiatives.
While the Supreme Judicial Court struck down initiatives involving rent control and reducing the state income tax from the ballot, several contested questions remained, including Question 8, which would roll back the 2016 voter approval of recreational marijuana shops across the state.
Question 1 would make records held by the state legislature and governor's office public records.
Question 2 would permit public defenders to participate in collective bargaining.
Question 3 would eliminate party-exclusive primaries and would create a system where the top two finishers in an all-party primary advance to the general election.
Question 4 would allow for same-day voter registration, eliminating the current 10-day deadline before an election to register to vote.
Question 5 would change the amount of revenue the state could collect in a given year and issue automatic refunds to residents when the collection exceeded that limit.
Question 6 would create a Nature For All Fund through existing sales taxes on sporting goods.
Question 7 would require cities and towns to allow single-family home development on any street-facing lot with at least 5,000 square feet of space, with municipal water and sewer capabilities, overriding many local zoning ordinances.
Question 9 would retain stricter gun control regulations adopted in 2024 that include the prohibition of ghost guns and a wider authority to seize guns from those accused of domestic violence and other crimes, as well as from those determined to be a threat to themselves or others.
Statewide Races
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are looking to fend off challenges from Republican businessman Mike Minogue and Independent Andrea James.
Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey survived his primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who opted not to run for re-election to that seat in order to challenge Markey, and faces Republican John Deaton and Socialism and Liberation candidate John Tache.
There are also statewide races for State Treasurer between incumbent Democrat Deb Goldberg and Republican challenger Elizabeth Dionne, Secretary of State between incumbent Democrat Bill Galvin and Republican challenger Anne Brensley, and Attorney General between incumbent Democrat Andrea Campbell and Republican challenger Michael Walsh.
How To Vote
Polling locations are open statewide from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Residents can find their polling location here.
Massachusetts offers no-excuse, vote-by-mail for all state and federal elections. Those who have received and filled out a ballot may mail it back to the city or town clerk's office, hand-deliver the ballot to the local election office, or use a ballot drop box in their city or town.
Ballots cannot be returned to polling locations the day of the election.
Ballots must reach your local election drop box by close of polls on Election Day in order to be counted.
For ballots returned by mail in the biennial state election in November, three extra days are allowed for ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive in the mail.
Use our Track My Ballot tool to check the status of your ballot. The tracker will show you the date your ballot was mailed, the date it was returned, and whether your ballot was accepted or rejected.
Check back with your Patch throughout Election Night for updates, results and reactions.
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