Massachusetts voters could have their say on a broad swath of ballot questions in 2026, including proposals on same-day voter registration, multiparty primaries and rent control.
Eleven of the 40-plus initiative petitions approved by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell earlier this year seem poised to reach the signature threshold required to bring them one step closer to appearing on the ballot, according to several people familiar with the efforts.
Here’s a look at some of the proposals, and what’s next in the process.
Proposed changes to voting
One of the measures expected to move forward would legalize same-day voter registration. It’s backed by Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, the state’s top election official. If passed into law, it would allow individuals to register to vote or update their voting address at polling places on Election Day by providing proof of residency and signing a written oath. Individuals who do not provide proof of residency would still be able to cast provisional ballots, which would be counted if they provided proof of residency was within a specific time frame.
In a celebratory email sent on Nov. 20, Galvin and Norma Shulman, the chair of YES on Election Day Voter Registration, touted reaching the signature threshold as a “Big Win for Voter Rights.”
Other measures are aimed at making government work better from the proponents’ point of view, including proposed laws that would expand public records access on Beacon Hill and create a new primary structure in which all candidates, whatever their party, would run at the same time.
Jesse Littlewood, the lead proponent of the multi-party election proposal, says the change would make democracy in Massachusetts “healthier and more responsive.”
“Massachusetts has the least competitive elections in the nation,” Littlewood told GBH News. “Over half of the races in our state go uncontested, which leaves millions of voters without a real choice. So all-party primaries will make our democracy more healthy with open, fair and accountable elections.
“That happens because one, every voter has a vote of consequence in both the primary and the general election,” Littlewood added. “Two, unenrolled voters — who make up the largest portion of voters in the state at 65% — no longer have to choose a party when they go to the primary. They’re able to vote for any candidate of their choice, just like in an all-party primary Democrats and Republicans and anyone else would be able to as well.”
Rent control, income tax and other affordability measures
The current national focus on affordability as a key political issue is also evident in the array of initiatives likely to advance locally. One would create mandatory rent control statewide, just over three decades after the narrow statewide banning of rent control back in 1994.
“We’re fighting to make sure that everyday people across our state can afford to live and grow roots here in Massachusetts,” said Carolyn Chou of the Keep Massachusetts Home campaign. “We see every month corporate landlords buying up properties and doubling rents on tenants across the state, from big cities like Boston and Springfield to smaller towns like Southbridge and Ayer.”
Another initiative would lower the state income tax from 5% to 4%.
Both these proposals are likely to engender heated debate as the Legislative calendar proceeds.
“I ask them what’s obvious: Do you feel squeezed? Are you facing affordability issues, and do you feel like you need a break?” Jim Stergios, the head of the Pioneer Institute and lead proponent of the proposed income-tax cut, said of his conversations with voters.
Other proposed laws would limit the amount the state can collect in taxes annually, create a dedicated new funding stream to support water and nature in the Commonwealth, reform and regulate the use of legislative stipends., allow employees of the Committee for Public Council Services to unionize, and allow the construction of new homes on small lots with sufficient infrastructure.
Another proposed law likely to elicit a great deal of attention next year would roll back the state’s relatively new legal marijuana industry.
What’s next for all these proposals
There are nuances in the initiative-petition process.
Backers must submit 74,574 certified signatures to the secretary of the commonwealth by Dec. 3. Measures that clear that signature hurdle are then sent to the Massachusetts Legislature, which can enact a measure in line with the proposed law.
If lawmakers don’t take up individual proposals by May, supporters then have until July 1 to gather nearly 12,500 more signatures to place it on the ballot in the fall, at which point voters can have their say.
All of the 11 measures expected to clear the signature hurdle would be changes to state law. The process is more rigorous for proposed changes to the Massachusetts Constitution, which must be approved twice by the Legislature over multiple years before the measure can go to the ballot.
It’s unlikely to be a smooth process for the full slate of proposed questions, though. Top Democrats in the Massachusetts House and Senate this week expressed concern about the volume of proposals, alleging special interest groups have too much say in the process.
“Makes you wonder how easy is it for these special interest groups to go out and pay someone to get signatures and design questions that support their topics or their personal interests,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said on Monday.
