policy
Ballot measures range from amending state tax revenue caps and amending state voting and election procedures to repealing previous firearms and marijuana legislation.
Commonwealth Secretary William Galvin polls for the 2024 election. Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe
Massachusetts voters will face nine statewide ballot questions when they head to the polls for the upcoming statewide election.
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As mass ballot initiatives proliferate, critics want to limit them
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Excerpts from the first election of the 2026 midterm campaigns
Office of Secretary of State William Galvin Announce Tuesday’s nine ballot questions for the state’s Nov. 3 election ballot.
Massachusetts has never seen this many ballot questions Since 1994. With that number of questions, ballots in most communities are expected to be two to three pages long, Galvin’s office said, though the length of the ballot also depends on other factors, including the number of local candidates running in that community.
Below is a list of approved questions for the 2026 election in the order in which they will appear on the ballot, according to the Division of Elections.
Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law
Under this Ballot initiativerecords maintained by the Governor’s Office and the State Legislature, which are currently excluded from Access requirements in Massachusetts lawwill be classified as public records.
Question 2: Collective bargaining for CPCS employees
this Measures Public defenders and other PSC employees would be allowed to join unions and participate in other collective bargaining practices.
Question 3: State primaries
this The proposed initiative It would merge the primaries of individual political parties into a single election. All candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, will be listed on the ballot together, and the two candidates who receive the most votes will advance to the general election.
Question Four: Registration on Election Day
this a question Massachusetts residents will be allowed to register and vote on Election Day.
Question 5: State revenue and deduction limits
If passed, officials will use A New way To determine the ceiling of state tax revenues.
Currently, this cap is based on the previous year’s limit plus three-year average wage and salary growth in Massachusetts. If the question passes, the limit would instead be calculated using actual net state revenues from the previous year along with wage and salary growth.
Question Six: Natural Resources Conservation Fund
This procedure suggests creating “Nature Fund for All” Which would allocate state funds to finance nature conservation efforts.
Question 7: Single-family homes
Under this initiativemunicipalities will be permitted to permit the construction of single-family housing on residentially zoned lots that meet specified minimum standards: at least 5,000 square feet of space, at least 50 feet of frontage along a public road or street, and connection to public sewer and water services.
Question 8: Prohibit the retail sale of marijuana for adult recreational use
this an offer It seeks to repeal a 2016 ballot question that legalized the sale of recreational marijuana throughout Massachusetts.
If approved, the measure would repeal current laws allowing the sale and home cultivation of recreational marijuana, as well as establish new possession limits and civil penalties for violations.
Question 9: Regulation of firearms
Final a question He proposes repealing the Gun Reform Act of 2024, which changed the ban in state law from an assault weapons ban to an assault firearms ban.
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