2026 Midterms State GuideMassachusetts
Hold on to your Boston cream pies and Dunkin’ coffee.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Massachusetts, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified.
A prayer for Massachusetts
Father, we pray for Bay Staters as they cast their votes. May voters not be overwhelmed by their ballots’ length or complexity. Give them wisdom to weigh each measure carefully, discernment in their choice, and the grace to trust You with the outcomes. In all things, may they, whether intentionally or by common grace, further Your glory and the good of their neighbor.
Read the whole prayerUpdated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your Boston cream pies and Dunkin’ coffee, and let’s get into it.
Massachusetts at a glance
Massachusetts votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for governor, U.S. Senate, all 9 U.S. House seats and nine statewide ballot measures.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Voter registration
- Oct. 24: Voter registration deadline (in person by 5 p.m., online by 11:59 p.m., by mail postmarked by this day).
- Early voting
- Oct. 17 to Oct. 30: Early voting in person
- Governor
- 3 candidates
- U.S. Senate
- 4 candidates
- U.S. House
- 9 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 9
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
- Nov. 6Deadline for mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Massachusetts certifies the results
Results become official once Massachusetts certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- Sep. 1Primaries This date has passed.
- Oct. 17 to Oct. 30Early voting in person This date has passed.
- Oct. 24Voter registration deadline (in person by 5 p.m., online by 11:59 p.m., by mail postmarked by this day). This date has passed.
- Oct. 27 (5 p.m.)Vote-by-mail application deadline This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day, polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; mail ballots dropped off in person are due by 8 p.m. This date has passed.
- Nov. 6Deadline for mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 This date has passed.
What’s at stake
Bay State voters are thinking all money, all the time. In a 2026 UMass Poll, voters were asked to summarize the most important issues facing the state in a word or two, and the top word was housing (166), followed by cost (140), living (77), affordability (71), and economy (66). 40% of voters ranked Massachusetts’ economy as “fair,” while 38% said the same about the nation’s economy. The state ranks among the country’s deepest blues, making it an unlikely pick-up for Republicans.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
Massachusetts is choosing a governor
See whose priorities line up with yours
Here are the top priorities each candidate lists, in their own words. Pick the 3 that matter most to you. Names stay hidden until you see your results.
0 of 3 picked
Maura HealeyDemocratincumbent
Top accomplishments (cited by their campaign)- Lowering housing costs by eliminating renters' broker fees and building toward 100,000 new homes
- Lowering energy costs and holding utilities accountable for rate hikes through her Energy Affordability Agenda
- Expanding job opportunities and growing the Massachusetts economy
- Top priorities
Michael MinogueRepublican- Holding government accountable by auditing the Legislature and stopping overspending
- Cutting taxes, lowering energy costs and making it easier to rent, buy or build a home
- Giving families in struggling schools more options through the federal tax credit scholarship program
- Top priorities
Andrea JamesIndependent- Declaring a statewide housing emergency and creating a Social Housing Authority to build permanently affordable homes
- Creating a single-payer health care system with no premiums, co-pays or deductibles
- Expanding publicly funded child care and raising wages for child care workers
- Get to know ’em
John DeatonRepublican - Get to know ’em
Joseph TacheParty for Socialism and Liberation - Get to know ’em
Shiva AyyaduraiIndependent
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
- Shadrach’s big picture
Bay Staters will elect nine candidates to represent them in the U.S. House. Democrats are expected to hold all nine of those seats.
- Open seats
One: MA-6’s incumbent Rep. Seth Moulton (D) is running for U.S. Senate.
- Competitive districts
No Bay State district is considered competitive (all solidly Democratic). MA-1, MA-2, MA-5, and MA-7 are all but guaranteed to Democrats because no Republicans filed to run. The other districts have candidates in both parties filed to run, but no Massachusetts district has flipped Republican since 1992.
Statewide ballot measures
9 to read before you go. Tap one to open it.
This initiative would make records held by the state legislature and the governor's office public records. The two exceptions would be: 1) legislators and the governor don't have to release documents that show them working out what their position on an issue should be; or 2) messages with constituents who reached out for help dealing with a government agency.
Voting yessupports making records held by the state legislature and the governor's office public records, except for documents showing officials working out their position on an issue and messages with constituents who asked for help with a government agency.Voting noopposes this initiative, maintaining the current status quo of all documents held by the state legislature and the governor's office being exempt from this requirement.This initiative would permit employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS: the people who represent individuals who can’t afford a lawyer) to participate in collective bargaining practices (read: unionize and negotiate things like pay, benefits, and working conditions) and require the CPCS to request funding from the governor for agreements within 30 days after entering into a collective bargaining contract.
Voting yessupports letting CPCS workers unionize and negotiate pay, benefits, and working conditions, and requiring CPCS to request funding from the governor within 30 days of signing a collective bargaining contract.Voting noopposes this initiative, maintaining the current status quo that CPCS workers are not allowed to unionize.This initiative would create a single primary election in which all candidates would be listed on the same ballot for state elections, regardless of their political affiliation, and the two candidates that receive the most votes would advance to the general election.
Voting yessupports replacing party primaries for state elections with one primary ballot listing every candidate regardless of party, where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping separate party primaries for state elections, where each party picks its own nominee for the general election.This initiative would permit same-day voter registration.
Voting yessupports letting voters register and vote on the same day, instead of registering 10 days before an election.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping the status quo of requiring voters to register to vote 10 days before an election.This initiative would change the way Massachusetts calculates the cap on how much tax revenue the state can collect each year, refunding taxpayers automatically when collections go over that cap. Right now, the cap only grows with wage and salary, and revenue from the state's 4% "millionaires tax" on income over $1 million is left out of the calculation. The measure would fold that millionaires-tax revenue into the count and change the starting point for the formula from last year's cap to last year's actual collections, making it more likely the state hits the cap and triggers refunds.
Voting yessupports counting "millionaires tax" revenue toward the state's yearly tax revenue cap and starting the cap's formula from last year's actual collections, making automatic taxpayer refunds more likely.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping the current formula, which leaves "millionaires tax" revenue out of the count and starts from last year's cap.This initiative would create a fund for state money, titled the Nature for All Fund, to be used to fund nature conservation efforts, and requiring: 1) that before July 1, 2028, 50% of the tax revenue from the sale and use of sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses be placed in the fund; and 2) that after July 1, 2028, 100% of such tax revenue be placed in the fund.
Voting yessupports creating the Nature for All Fund for nature conservation, paid for with 50% of the tax revenue from sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses before July 1, 2028, and 100% after that date.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping that tax revenue where it goes today, with no dedicated conservation fund.This initiative would override local zoning rules that currently force single-family homes to sit on large lots (half an acre to two acres in much of the state) and instead require towns to allow single-family construction on lots as small as 5,000 square feet (about a ninth of an acre), as long as the lot has 50 feet of street frontage and is hooked up to public water and sewer.
Voting yessupports requiring towns to allow single-family homes on lots as small as 5,000 square feet, as long as the lot has 50 feet of street frontage and public water and sewer.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping local zoning rules that can require much larger lots (half an acre to two acres in much of the state).This initiative would change marijuana laws, including: 1) repealing laws that allow the sale, regulation, and taxation of recreational marijuana; 2) repealing laws permitting the personal cultivation of cannabis in homes; 3) for people aged 21 or older, permitting possession of up to one ounce of marijuana without penalties, and possession of up to two ounces of marijuana with civil penalties only; and 4) for people aged under 21, making possession of up to two ounces of marijuana a civil offense.
Voting yessupports ending recreational marijuana sales and home growing, while letting adults 21 and older possess up to one ounce without penalty (and up to two ounces with civil penalties only) and making possession of up to two ounces a civil offense for anyone under 21.Voting noopposes this initiative, keeping recreational marijuana sales (and their regulation and taxation) and home growing legal.This referendum asks whether to uphold House Bill 4885, which enacted several changes to the state's firearm regulations: 1) developing an electronic registration system to track firearm ownership; 2) prohibiting assault-style firearms (as defined in law); 3) requiring safety certificates to obtain firearm permits; 4) mandating serial numbers for firearms; 5) allowing school administrators and licensed healthcare providers to request that a court issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order; and 6) permitting courts to order firearm surrender when issuing Harassment Prevention Orders.
Voting yessupports upholding this law (which has been in place for two years), keeping the electronic firearm registration system, the assault-style firearm ban, safety certificates for permits, required serial numbers, school administrators' and healthcare providers' power to request Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and courts' power to order firearm surrender with Harassment Prevention Orders.Voting noimmediately repeals this law, not undoing punishments that have already happened but preventing enforcement going forward
Also on the ballot
Other races Massachusetts voters will decide.
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- Auditor
- Treasurer
- Governor's Council (8 seats)
- State Senate
- State House
- Special state legislative
- Municipal government
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
Know someone voting in Massachusetts?
Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
A prayer for Massachusetts
Father, we pray for Bay Staters as they cast their votes. May voters not be overwhelmed by their ballots’ length or complexity. Give them wisdom to weigh each measure carefully, discernment in their choice, and the grace to trust You with the outcomes. In all things, may they, whether intentionally or by common grace, further Your glory and the good of their neighbor.
May candidates run with integrity and not with contempt for those who oppose them. Surround the winners with wise counsel and guide them toward decisions that serve their constituents. Comfort those who lose, and give them grace in their words and deeds.
Draw near to all tempted toward anxiety, anger, or despair. Guard their hearts with a peace that this political moment cannot give. Open doors for believers to share the good news that no candidate or ballot decision usurps Your sovereignty or thwarts Your good purposes.
Amen.