Massachusetts Permit Same-Day Voter Registration Initiative (2026)
| Massachusetts Permit Same-Day Voter Registration Initiative | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Voter registration |
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| Status Certified to the legislature |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
The Massachusetts Permit Same-Day Voter Registration Initiative may be on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The ballot initiative would permit same-day voter registration in the state.[1]
Measure design
- See also: Text of measure
Click on the following sections for summaries of the different provisions of the initiative.[2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin (D)
Political Parties
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
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Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Polls
| Poll | Dates | Sample size | Margin of error | Support | Oppose | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of New Hampshire Survey Center Question"Generally speaking, would you support or oppose the following proposed ballot questions that may be on the general election ballot in November or do you not have an opinion on these? Provide for same-day voter registration" | – | 669 Residents | ± 3.80% | 62.0% | 21.0% | 17.0% |
Suffolk University Political Research Center/The Boston Globe Question"A proposed ballot question would allow residents to register to vote on Election Day. Would you support or oppose such a proposal?" | – | 500 RV | ± 4.40% | 63.4% | 31.8% | 4.8% |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | ||||||
Background
Same-day voter registration in the United States
- See also: Same-day voter registration
As of November 2025, 22 states and the District of Columbia had same-day voter registration provisions enabling voters to register and vote at the same time.[5] In 21 of these states and the District of Columbia, same-day voter registration is available on Election Day (and often during the early voting period as well). North Carolina is the only state that offered same-day registration during the early voting period, but not on Election Day. Two states, Alaska and Rhode Island, allowed same-day registration for presidential elections.
Senate Bill 505
In 2025, the Election Modernization Coalition announced its legislative campaign for the year.[8] The plan included Senate Bill 505 (S. 505), which they sponsored, which would have permitted same-day voter registration in the state of Massachusetts.
In support of S. 505, the Election Modernization Coalition stated, "No eligible voter should be turned away at the polls due to an error in or out-of-date voter registration. Same Day Voter Registration allows all eligible voters to register or update their registration in-person on Election Day or early voting days, doing away with the longstanding and arbitrary voter registration cutoff period."[9]
On February 27, 2025, state Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Nortfolk and Middlesex) introduced S. 505 to the state Senate. On November 24, 2025, the Election Laws Committee reported favorably on the bill. The state Senate and House never voted on the bill.
Path to the ballot
Process in Massachusetts
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures (first round): 74,574
- Signatures (second round): 12,429
- Deadline (first round): The deadline to submit the first round of signatures to the secretary of state was December 3, 2025.
- Deadline (second round): The deadline to submit the second round of signatures is July 8, 2026.
Stages of this initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[10]
- August 5, 2025: The Massachusetts attorney general announced that the initiative had been filed.
- September 3, 2025: The Massachusetts attorney general announced that the initiative had been cleared and that supporters could begin gathering signatures for the initiative.
- November 19, 2025: According to NBC Boston, the campaign "submitted well over 80,000 signatures and is potentially closing in on 90,000."[11]
- December 18, 2025: The state Elections Division announced that it had certified 87,408 valid signatures in support of the initiative. As such, it was certified to go before the state legislature in the 2026 legislative session.[12]
External links
See also
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Footnotes
- ↑ Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2028 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments), "An Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Election Day Registration," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtext - ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Registering to Vote," accessed January 9, 2026
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ NCSL, "Same-Day Voter Registration," accessed November 19, 2025
- ↑ In 2021, Montana passed HB 176 , which moved the registration deadline to the day before Election Day. In 2024, the bill was declared unconstitutional, leaving the previous law allowing Election Day registration in effect.
- ↑ Same-day registration in North Carolina applies only to the early voting period.
- ↑ Common Cause Massachusetts, "Voting Rights Groups Launch Campaign to Strengthen Ballot Access," accessed January 9, 2025
- ↑ Election Modernization Coalition, "Priority Legislation," accessed January 9, 2026
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2028 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments)," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ NBC Boston, "10 questions expected to be on the Massachusetts ballot in 2026," November 21, 2025
- ↑ Worcester Business Journal, "Ballot initiative to recriminalize recreational cannabis sales receives certification," accessed December 19, 2025
