Nine statewide questions are on the ballot this year — an unusually long ballot. Here is what each one actually does, and what a YES and a NO would mean, in plain language.
9 statewide questions
2–3 pages — how long most ballots will be
Tuesday, Nov. 3 — Election Day
This guide makes no recommendations. It summarizes each question and lays out what supporters and opponents say, so you can decide for yourself. Every summary here is drawn from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's certified ballot list, the Attorney General's certified summaries, the Legislature's own records, and the campaigns on both sides. The state's official Information for Voters booklet — the red one, with each campaign's own arguments for and against — arrives in mailboxes in September. Read that too.
Two questions read backwards
On Question 8, a YES vote repeals legal recreational marijuana sales. On Question 9, a NO vote repeals the 2024 firearms law and a YES vote keeps it.
Both sides of the Question 9 campaign agree the wording is confusing. Read those two twice before you fill in the oval.
There is no income tax question
A separate proposal to cut the state income tax from 5% to 4% was filed and widely discussed, but the Supreme Judicial Court removed it from the ballot in 2026. It is not on your ballot.
Question 5 is a different measure — it changes the state's tax revenue cap and rebate formula.
Bring notes to the polls
You are allowed to bring your own notes, a marked sample ballot, or this page on your phone into the voting booth. With nine questions on a two- or three-page ballot, it helps.
Use the Mark my choices buttons below, then print your list.
All Nine, In Order
Browse the questions
Tap a question to open what YES and NO would mean. Mark your choices as you go, then print a one-page cheat sheet to take with you. Your choices stay on your device and are never sent anywhere.
Showing all 9 questions.
Question 1 · Initiative Petition · Government & Elections
Expanding the Public Records Law
Would make most records held by the Legislature and the Governor's office subject to the state public records law — the same law that already covers city halls, school departments and state agencies. Records tied to developing policy, and communications with constituents seeking help, would stay exempt.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
Legislative and gubernatorial records could be requested by any member of the public, with denials appealable through the normal public records process.
NO would mean
The current exemptions stay in place. Massachusetts remains the only state where the Legislature, the judiciary and the governor's office are all exempt.
Supporters include
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who led the signature drive; Act on Mass; the ACLU of Massachusetts; open-government and press groups.
Opponents include
No organized campaign has formed. Legislative leaders have advanced their own narrower transparency bills instead, which supporters of the question call an attempt to preempt it.
Local noteThis is the follow-on to 2024's Question 1, which authorized the State Auditor to audit the Legislature. Leominster voted for that measure 14,081 to 5,462 — 72% — almost exactly matching the statewide result.
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Question 2 · Initiative Petition · Government & Elections
Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees
Would let employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services — the state's public defender agency, roughly 500 staff attorneys plus support staff — form a union and bargain collectively over pay, hours and working conditions. It would also require the agency to request funding from the Governor within 30 days of reaching an agreement.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
CPCS employees gain the collective bargaining rights that employees at roughly 180 other state agencies already have.
NO would mean
Pay and working conditions continue to be set by agency management and the state budget, with no bargaining unit — as has been the case since the agency was created.
Supporters include
SEIU Local 888, the National Association of Government Employees, AFT Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Defenders Union.
Opponents include
No organized opposition campaign has formed. Questions raised in legislative hearings focused on cost and on how a union contract would fit the agency's statutory duties.
Local noteWorcester County's district and superior courts, which serve Leominster, rely on court-appointed counsel. A separate 2025 pay dispute involving private bar advocates left more than 1,300 defendants statewide without a lawyer at one point.
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Question 3 · Initiative Petition · Government & Elections
State Primary Elections
Would replace separate Democratic and Republican primaries with a single primary ballot listing every candidate for each office. The top two finishers advance to November, even if they belong to the same party. It would apply to state and federal offices, district attorney and sheriff, starting January 1, 2028.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
Every registered voter, including the roughly two-thirds who are unenrolled, could vote in every primary race. Party labels still appear on the ballot but no longer decide who advances.
NO would mean
Party primaries continue as they are. Unenrolled voters keep choosing one party's ballot on primary day and voting only in that party's races.
Supporters include
The Coalition for a Healthy Democracy, chaired by Danielle Allen; U.S. Reps. Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton; former Gov. Deval Patrick; former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey; the state NAACP.
Opponents include
Voter Rights MA; the Massachusetts Democratic Party, which formally voted to oppose; the state AFL-CIO and SEIU chapters; U.S. Sen. Ed Markey; 27 state and local elected officials.
Local noteThis would not change the 2026 election. Its effective date is January 1, 2028.
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Question 4 · Initiative Petition · Government & Elections
Election Day Registration
Would let an eligible resident register and vote on the same day, including on Election Day, by showing proof of residency at the polls. It would end the current requirement to register at least 10 days before an election. More than 20 states already allow this.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
Someone who moved, changed their name, or missed the deadline could register at their polling place with a photo ID, utility bill, lease or bank statement, and vote that day.
NO would mean
The 10-day registration deadline stays. Voters who miss it cannot vote in that election.
Supporters include
Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who organized the petition drive; MassVOTE; the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts; Common Cause; the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Opponents include
No organized campaign has formed. The state Republican Party has criticized the idea, and some municipal clerks have raised concerns about Election Day workload.
Local noteLeominster's Election Commission would administer same-day registration here. The measure's effective date is 2028, so it would not apply to this November's election.
Would rewrite the 1986 law (Chapter 62F) that caps how much tax revenue the state can keep before it must return the excess to taxpayers. The cap would reset each year to the previous year's actual collections rather than compounding from a 1986 base, and revenue from the 2022 millionaires surtax would be counted in the calculation. The current cap has triggered a rebate twice in about forty years — in 1987 and 2022.
Not the income tax cut. A separate measure to lower the income tax from 5% to 4% was removed from the ballot by the Supreme Judicial Court. This is a different question.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
A tighter cap. Analysts on both sides expect automatic rebates would trigger far more often, returned to taxpayers in proportion to the income tax they paid.
NO would mean
The current formula stays — the cap keeps growing from its 1986 base, surtax revenue stays outside the calculation, and rebates remain rare.
Supporters include
The Massachusetts High Technology Council, which filed the petition, and the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. They argue the current cap is so loose it has become meaningless.
Opponents include
Protect Massachusetts Future, funded by SEIU, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and AFT Massachusetts; the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center; legislative budget leaders. They argue it would force cuts to schools, transportation and health care.
Worth knowingBecause rebates are proportional to income tax paid, the dollar amounts vary widely by income. In the 2022 rebate, the statewide average was about $529, but filers reporting over $1 million averaged far more and many lower-income filers received under $10.
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Question 6 · Initiative Petition · Environment
Natural Resource Conservation Fund
Would create a dedicated "Nature for All Fund" for land conservation, water protection, parks and trails, paid for by redirecting sales tax the state already collects on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf. It imposes no new tax. Half that revenue would flow to the fund starting July 2027 and all of it starting July 2028, overseen by a 15-member board.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
An existing stream of sales tax revenue is dedicated to conservation and outdoor recreation instead of flowing into the general state budget. Supporters estimate it at up to roughly $100 million a year once fully phased in.
NO would mean
That revenue stays in the General Fund, and conservation continues to be funded through the regular state budget and periodic bond bills — recently around $25 million a year.
Supporters include
Mass Audubon, The Trustees of Reservations, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Conservation Law Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and more than 90 partner groups; Gov. Maura Healey.
Opponents include
No organized opposition campaign. The League of Women Voters took no position, citing a general objection to earmarking tax revenue for a single purpose. Some analysts estimate the real net gain is closer to $65 million a year.
Local noteLeominster State Forest covers 4,246 acres across Leominster, Fitchburg, Princeton, Sterling and Westminster. The revenue behind this fund comes largely from purchases by hunters, anglers, campers, boaters and golfers.
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Question 7 · Initiative Petition · Housing
Single Family Homes
Would bar cities and towns from requiring more than 5,000 square feet of lot area, or more than 50 feet of street frontage, for a single-family home on residentially zoned land served by public water and sewer. Communities would keep control over setbacks, height, parking, wetlands protection and short-term rentals.
Single-family lots only. This question governs minimum lot size for single-family homes. It does not set the rules for apartment or multifamily developments.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
Local minimum lot size and frontage rules above that threshold would no longer apply in sewered areas. Statewide, 56% of land zoned for single-family homes currently requires lots of 40,000 square feet or more.
NO would mean
Local zoning stays exactly as each community has written it, including minimum lot sizes well above 5,000 square feet.
Supporters include
Legalize Starter Homes, Abundant Housing Massachusetts and the Charles River Chamber, who argue large-lot requirements drive up home prices and lock younger buyers out.
Opponents include
The Massachusetts Municipal Association, which argues this is a one-size-fits-all state mandate and that many local water and sewer systems are already at or near capacity.
Local noteWhat Leominster requires today for a single-family house, by district: 8,000 sq ft in Residence C and the Village district, 10,000 in Residence B, 21,780 (half an acre) in Residence A, and 43,560 (a full acre) in Rural Residence. Minimum frontage runs 50 feet in RB, RC and Village, 80 feet in RA, and 120 to 175 feet in Rural Residence. Question 7 would cap lot area at 5,000 square feet and frontage at 50 feet where public water and sewer are in place. Source: Leominster Zoning Ordinance, Ch. 22 Art. VII, Table of Dimensional Regulations, current as of July 29, 2026.
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Question 8 · Initiative Petition · Cannabis
Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana
Would repeal the licensed retail and commercial cultivation system created by the 2016 legalization vote. Possession of up to one ounce would remain non-criminal, with a civil penalty for one to two ounces. Medical marijuana would not be affected.
Read the direction carefully. On this question, a YES vote ends legal recreational marijuana sales. A NO vote keeps them.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean
Licensed recreational retail stores and commercial growers — more than 700 businesses statewide — would close. Personal possession of small amounts stays legal, and medical marijuana continues.
NO would mean
The regulated adult-use market continues operating as it does today, along with the state and local tax revenue it generates.
Supporters include
The Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, funded almost entirely by SAM Action, a Virginia-based organization that does not disclose its donors. They cite rising THC potency and youth use.
Opponents include
Stop the Repeal and the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, along with retailers and municipal officials, who cite jobs, tax revenue, and the risk of pushing sales back to an untested illicit market.
Local noteLeominster hosts one licensed adult-use dispensary, with others in Fitchburg and Lunenburg. Host communities receive local tax revenue from those businesses.
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Question 9 · Veto Referendum · Firearms
Firearms Regulation
A referendum on Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 — the firearms law that has been in effect since October 2024. Because it is a referendum on an existing law rather than a proposal for a new one, the voting direction is reversed from what most people expect.
YES keeps the 2024 law. NO repeals it. Both campaigns agree this wording confuses voters. If you want the law gone, that is a NO vote. If you want it kept, that is a YES vote.
Explore YES / NO considerations
YES would mean — keep the law
Chapter 135 stays in force: registration of firearms, frames and receivers; a broader "assault-style firearm" definition; a License to Carry requirement for semiautomatic rifles and shotguns; revised training including live fire for new applicants; added prohibited locations; expanded extreme risk protective orders; ghost gun and serialization rules; and seven-day reporting of a lost or stolen firearm.
NO would mean — repeal the law
Chapter 135 stops operating after the election, and the firearms laws that applied before October 2024 govern again. Repeal would not retroactively excuse conduct while the law was in effect.
Keeping the law (YES)
Vote Yes for a Safe MA and the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, along with Gov. Maura Healey, who argue the law targets trafficking, ghost guns and suicide risk without burdening lawful owners.
Repealing the law (NO)
The Civil Rights Coalition and Gun Owners' Action League, who argue the registration and training mandates are unworkable, that the new firearm definitions sweep in commonly owned models, and that the law has not reduced crime.
Local noteNorth Central Massachusetts has a large sportsmen's community, including clubs in Leominster, Fitchburg, Ashby, Ashburnham and Townsend. Under the current law, the deadline to register firearms is October 28, 2026 — six days before the election.
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Before You Vote
Check the official sources
Your registration
Confirm you are registered and find your polling place through the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Check my registration →
The official booklet
The state's Information for Voters guide is mailed to households in the fall. It carries the full certified text of each question plus the arguments each campaign wrote for and against. Elections Division →
Have a question?
If something here is unclear or you think we got a detail wrong, tell us — we will fix it. [email protected] →
Last updated September 2026. This page will be updated when the Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes the official Information for Voters booklet, whose certified language governs.