The 62-day sprint to Massachusetts' general election began the moment polls closed on the state's Sept. 1 primary.
Candidates have been settled for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, the Governor's Office, the Governor's Council and the state Legislature, and local district attorney races. The state's four constitutional officers — Auditor, treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general — also are on the ballot.
Voters also will be called upon to decide a historic nine ballot questions this fall. You can read the full list below.
Here's everything you need to know about casting your ballot in this pivotal midterm election.
Key deadlines related to voting. All are available on the Secretary of State's website.
Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 24
You can check your voter registration status right here on the Secretary of State's website. You can register to vote in Massachusetts if you are:
Not currently incarcerated by reason of a felony conviction.
You can register online or by mail.
You can pre-register to vote in Massachusetts if you are:
Not currently incarcerated by reason of a felony conviction.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, if you'll be 18 by Election Day, you can pre-register to vote by submitting a voter registration form — either online or in person. You'll receive a confirmation of your pre-registration by mail. And when you turn 18, you will be added to the voter list.
If you're a new citizen, you can register to vote as soon as you are naturalized. This part is important: You will need to register using a paper form, either by mail or in person, until you renew your driver's license or state ID with the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
The RMV can't verify your identity to use the Online Voter Registration System until you provide them with proof of citizenship, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
If you became a U.S. citizen after the voter registration deadline, you can still register to vote in person at your local election office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election.
But: Make sure you bring proof that your naturalization ceremony took place after the voter registration deadline.
Vote by Mail Application Deadline: 5 p.m., Oct. 27
Early Voting Period: Oct. 17-30
Election Day Polling Hours:7 a.m.–8 p.m.
U.S. Senate: U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., of Malden, who won the Sept. 1 primary, faces Republican John Deaton, who's making his second bid for Senate. Deaton, a cryptocurrency attorney from Swansea, lost to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in 2024.
The state's U.S. senator serves a six-year term.
2026 Candidate Questionnaire: Republican US Senate candidate John Deaton
2026 Candidate Questionnaire: US Sen. Ed Markey
U.S. House: All eight incumbent members of the state's U.S. House delegation are on the ballot this year. All are Democrats. There's currently one vacancy: U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th District, gave up his seat for his ultimately unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate nomination.
All U.S. House lawmakers serve 2-year terms.
1st District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Richard Neal faces independent candidate Nadia Milleron, who unsuccessfully ran in 2024.
2nd District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern is currently running without Republican opposition.
3rd District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan faces Republican Gary J. Grossi.
4th District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss faces Republican Thomas Stalcup.
5th District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark has no Republican opponent. Point of interest: If Democrats retake the U.S. House, Clark, currently the Democratic whip (the No. 2 leadership position), is in line to become the House's next majority leader.
6th District: Dan Koh, the former Biden White House aide who won the Sept. 1 primary, faces Republican Micah Q. Jones.
7th District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley has no Republican opposition.
8th District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch faces Republican Robert G. Burke.
9th District: Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Keating faces Republican Tyler McAllister.
The Governor's Office: Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who ran unopposed in the Sept. 1 primary, faces Republican Mike Minogue, a former medical device executive, who overwhelmingly won his primary, in the general election. The governor serves a 4-year term.
2026 Candidate Questionnaire: Democratic Gov. Maura Healey
2026 Candidate Questionnaire: Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue
Lieutenant Governor: Democratic incumbent Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, a former Salem mayor, faces New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver in the November general election. Both ran without opposition in the Sept. 1 primary.
State Legislature: All 40 members of the state Senate and all 160 members of the state House of Representatives. Lawmakers in both chambers are reelected every two years.
In 155 of those 200 districts, the Sept. 1 primary effectively was the general election, with candidates running without opposition on the fall ballot.
All four of the state's constitutional officers serve 4-year terms.
State Attorney General: Democratic incumbent Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell faces Republican Michael Walsh.
State Auditor: Democratic incumbent state Auditor Diana DiZoglio has no general election opposition.
Secretary of State: Democratic incumbent Secretary of State Bill Galvin is running for a historic ninth term. Republican Anne Brensley, who briefly sought the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor, waged a successful write-in campaign for the office.
State Treasurer: Democratic incumbent Treasurer Deborah Goldberg faces Republican Elizabeth Dionne.
The elected body, also known as the Executive Council, serves a low-profile but very important purpose in state government: It acts on pardons and commutations; confirms judicial nominations and gubernatorial appointments to a host of boards and commissions, according to the state's website.
Those boards include the state Parole Board, Appellate Tax Board, Industrial Accident Board, and Industrial Accident Reviewing Board; as well as notaries and justices of the peace, according to that same state website.
District 1: Democratic incumbent Councilor Joseph Ferreira will run unopposed.
District 2: Democratic incumbent Councilor Tamisha L. Civil will run unopposed.
District 3: Democratic incumbent Councilor Mara Dolan will run unopposed after securing the nomination in the Sept. 1 primary.
District 4: Democratic incumbent Councilor Christopher A. Iannella, Jr. will run unopposed after securing the nomination in the Sept. 1 primary.
District 5: Democratic incumbent Councilor Eunice Zeigler will run unopposed.
District 6: Democratic incumbent Terrence W. Kennedy will run unopposed after securing the nomination in the Sept. 1 primary.
District 7: Democratic incumbent Councilor Paul M. DePalo faces Republican Margaret M. Abboud in the general election.
District 8: Democratic incumbent Councilor Tara J. Jacobs will run unopposed.
Massachusetts voters will be called upon to decide a historic nine ballot questions at the polls this year. If past is precedent, and it almost always is, forces on both sides of these questions will spend heavily to influence voter opinion.
Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law to cover the Legislature and the Governor's Office. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is one of the big movers behind this question.
Question 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees. This is the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which provides defense lawyers for people facing criminal charges who cannot afford a lawyer. Their wages have been a subject of a months-long public debate.
Question 3: State Primary Elections: To allow for all-party or so-called "jungle primaries" that would put candidates from all the parties on the same ballot, with the top two candidates advancing to the general election. This raises the possibility that candidates from the same party could face each other in the general election.
Question 4: Election Day Registration: This would allow for same-day voter registration. Secretary of State Bill Galvin is one of the big movers behind this question.
Question 5: State Revenue Limit & Rebate: This question would change how the state calculates its tax revenue limit and make taxpayer refunds more frequent.
Question 6: Natural Resource Conservation Fund. If approved, it establishes a dedicated Natural Resource Conservation Fund—also known as The Nature for All Fund. It would "permanently finance land protection, clean water and outdoor recreation using existing state tax revenue," according to a summary.
Question 7: Single-Family Homes: This question would allow for the construction of single-family homes on smaller lots.
Question 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana. If passed, the sale of marijuana for recreational use would become illegal.
Question 9: Firearms Regulation. A yes vote would keep the state's strict firearms regulations in place. A "no" vote would repeal them.
Stick with MassLive for comprehensive coverage of all the candidates and the key issues in the run-up to Election Day, Nov. 3.
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