BOSTON — The nine questions that will appear on the ballot in the Massachusetts state election this November have been finalized.
On Tuesday, July 21, the Elections Division of Commonwealth Secretary Bill Galvin’s Office published the list of questions that will appear on the Nov. 3 State Election ballot and the order in which they will be presented.
Galvin’s office said this year’s ballot question numbers were assigned at the direction of First Deputy Secretary Michelle Tassinari, the Director of the Elections Division. The order in which the questions appear in was chosen with the intention to maximize space on the ballot, with the length of the question summaries being the primary consideration.
Given that this will be the most questions on a state election ballot in Massachusetts in over three decades, Galvin’s office said ballots in most communities across the state are expected to be two to three pages long. The length of each community’s ballot will depend on the number of offices and candidates competing. If the ballot needs to be printed in more than one language and any local questions that may be added by the city or town, will affect the number of pages.
The following are the nine questions that will appear on the ballot this November:
Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law
Voters will decide whether to make the Governor, Legislature and other elected officials subject to the state’s public records law, increasing public access to government records.
Question 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees
Voters will decide whether employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (the state’s public defender agency) should be allowed to unionize and collectively bargain.
Question 3: State Primary Elections
Voters will decide whether to replace party primaries with a nonpartisan primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot and the top finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Question 4: Election Day Registration
If passed, eligible residents can register to vote or update their voter registration on Election Day and cast a ballot immediately.
Question 5: State Revenue Limit & Rebate
Voters will decide whether to limit the amount of tax revenue the state can keep and require additional revenue above that limit to be returned to taxpayers through rebates.
Question 6: Natural Resource Conservation Fund
If approved, this will create a dedicated fund for protecting water, forests, parks, farmland and other natural resources in Massachusetts, financed through a portion of existing state sales tax revenue.
Question 7: Single Family Homes
Voters will decide whether to limit local minimum lot-size requirements, which would ease the restrictions on the construction of single-family homes on smaller lots in many communities.
Question 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana
If passed, the legalization of recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts would be repealed, while keeping medical marijuana legal.
Question 9: Firearms Regulation
If approved, Massachusetts’ 2024 firearms law expanding gun safety regulations — including restrictions on certain firearms, licensing requirements and other public safety measures — would be upheld.
