Massachusetts Require Mail-In Voters to Comply with Absentee Ballot Procedures Initiative (2026)

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Massachusetts Require Mail-In Voters to Comply with Absentee Ballot Procedures Initiative
Flag of Massachusetts.png
Election date
November 3, 2026
Topic
Absentee and mail voting
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
State statute
Origin
Citizens

The Massachusetts Require Mail-In Voters to Comply with Absentee Ballot Procedures Initiative is not on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.

The ballot initiative would have striked the existing vote by mail procedure in the state of Massachusetts and instead required voters who want to vote early by mail to vote according to the absentee ballot procedures.[1]

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is available here.

Path to the ballot

Process in Massachusetts

See also: Laws governing the initiative 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:

Stages of this initiative

The following is the timeline of the initiative:[2]

  • August 5, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been filed.
  • September 3, 2025: The Attorney General announced that the initiative had been declined because the initiative, if approved, "would 'impair the freedom of a voter to express his choice as to men or measures' by requiring in-person voting.." absent a few exceptions.[3]


External links

See also

  • Ballot measure lawsuits
  • Ballot measure readability
  • Ballot measure polls

Footnotes