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Massachusetts Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative (2026)

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Massachusetts Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative

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Election date

November 3, 2026

Topic
Primary election systems
Status

Certified to the legislature

Type
Indirect initiated state statute 		Origin

Citizens


The Massachusetts Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative may be on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.

The ballot initiative would eliminate political party primaries for state elections. Instead, the ballot initiative would create a single primary in which all candidates would be listed on the ballot regardless of their political party affiliation. The top two candidates receiving the most votes would advance to the general election.[1]

Measure design

See also: Text of measure

Click on the following sections for summaries of the different provisions of the ballot initiative[1]


Expand All
Top-two primary system
Offices that would be subject to a top-two primary
Definition of a political party
Governor and Lt. Governor candidacy
Format of election ballots


Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is available here.

Support

Supporters

Coalitionforahealthydemocracy.png

The Coalition for Healthy Democracy is leading the campaign in support of the measure.[6] The campaign named the measure the All Party State Primaries initiative.

Officials

Former Officials

Political Parties

Organizations

  • Veterans for All Voters

Individuals


Arguments

  • Coalition for Healthy Democracy: "Right now, elected officials operate in a system that rewards partisan extremes rather than consensus-building leaders. Only a small, unrepresentative fraction of voters determine an election. Candidates aren't required to engage in broad, substantive debate before the general election. All-candidate primary elections will unlock the true potential of our political system. We already vote this way for mayoral elections in most Massachusetts cities. Every voter can participate in a meaningful way, with candidates competing for broad support, not just their party’s base. New candidate voices can actually be heard. Our elections would finally be more competitive, substantive and reflective of all of us."
  • Jesse Littlewood, campaign manager for Coalition for Healthy Democracy: "We’ve had great conversations across the state. The voters we’re speaking to who are enthusiastic about this want more competition in their elections, want elections where they can hold politicians accountable and want officials to represent all of their voters."
  • Former MassGOP Chair Jennifer Nassour: "At the end of the day, we don't want one party deciding where our tax dollars go, and we don't need a governor who's not going to inform us of the decisions that she's making. And unless we have competitive primaries and competitive elections, we're never going to change that."


Opposition

Opponents

Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Media editorials

See also: 2026 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

The following media editorial board published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:

  • Lowell Sun Editorial Board: "Experts and advocates say the primary election process excludes voters and leads to more extreme candidates who mainly appeal to activists, and could be exacerbating partisan polarization. That’s why there’s a movement to rethink how states set up their primary elections and how voters choose which candidates advance to a general election."


Opposition

Ballotpedia has not located media editorial boards in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share media editorial endorsements, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Background

Top-two primary

See also: Top-two primary

A top-two primary is a type of primary election where all candidates are listed on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliations. Consequently, it is possible for two candidates belonging to the same political party to win in a top-two primary and face off in the general election.[7][8]

Top-two primaries should not be confused with blanket primaries. In both types of primaries, all candidates are listed on the same ballot and voters choose one candidate per office regardless of party affiliation. However, in a blanket primary, the top vote-getter from each party advances to the general election. This ensures that candidates from the same party will not compete against each other in the general election.[9][10]

Top-two primaries in the United States

The map below identifies states that utilize top-two primary elections or a variation. Hover over a state for additional details.

As of September 2025, three states used a top-two primary for some elections:

  • In Nebraska, a top-two primary system is utilized for state legislative elections. Because Nebraska's state legislature is nonpartisan, partisan affiliation labels are not listed alongside the names of state legislative candidates.

Two additional states used some variation of top-two primaries for their elections:

  • In 2020, Alaska voters approved Alaska Ballot Measure 2 establishing a top-four primary, which is a variation of the top-two primary, for state executive, state legislative, and congressional elections. The initiative also established ranked-choice voting for general elections for the aforementioned offices and the presidency.
  • In Louisiana, rules to participate in primaries vary by the office up for election. For congress, justice of the supreme court, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Public Service Commission, the state uses a semi-closed primary. In these primaries, only unaffiliated voters and voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary. For all other statewide offices—including state senator and representative—Louisiana uses the majority-vote system. In this system, if a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, they win the election outright. If, however, no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting is held between the top two vote-getters. Any registered voter can participate in both the first-round and second-round elections.[11][12]


Statewide ballot measures related to top primary systems

Ballot measures related to primary election systems
YearMeasureSystem typeYes vote (%)No vote (%)Outcome
2024South Dakota Constitutional Amendment HTop-two primary34.39%65.61%
Defeatedd
2024Nevada Question 3Top-five primary47.04%52.96%
Defeatedd
2024Montana CI-126Top-four primary48.91%51.09%
Defeatedd
2024Idaho Proposition 1Top-four primary30.38%69.62%
Defeatedd
2024Colorado Proposition 131Top-four primary46.47%53.53%
Defeatedd
2024Arizona Proposition 140All top primaries41.32%58.68%
Defeatedd
2024Arizona Proposition 133All top primaries42.18%57.82%
Defeatedd
2024Alaska Ballot Measure 3Top-four primary49.88%50.12%
Defeatedd
2022Nevada Question 3Top-five primary52.94%47.06%
Approveda
2020Alaska Ballot Measure 2Top-four primary50.55%49.45%
Approveda
2020Florida Amendment 3Top-two primary57.03%[13]42.97%
Defeatedd
2014Oregon Measure 90Top-two primary31.77%68.23%
Defeatedd
2012Arizona Proposition 121Top-two primary33.07%66.93%
Defeatedd
2010California Proposition 14Top-two primary53.73%46.27%
Approveda
2008Oregon Measure 65Top-two primary34.06%65.94%
Defeatedd
2004Washington Initiative 872Top-two primary59.85%40.15%
Approveda
2004California Proposition 62Blanket primary46.17%53.83%
Defeatedd

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 the ballot initiative

The following is the timeline of the initiative:[14]

  • August 7, 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. Two versions of the initiative were approved to begin gathering signatures separately.
  • November 19, 2025: Jesse Littlewood, the campaign manager for the Coalition for Healthy Democracy, announced that they submitted approximately 98,000 signatures in support of the initiative.[15][16]
  • December 18, 2025: The state Elections Division announced that it had certified 79,032 valid signatures in support of the initiative. As such, it was certified to go before the state legislature in the 2026 legislative session.[17]

External links

See also

2026 ballot measures

View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts ballot measures

Explore Massachusetts's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.

Initiative process

Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mass.gov, "Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement All-Party State Primaries," accessed September 4, 2025
  2. ↑ General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Section 6: Nomination papers; contents; number of signatures; unenrolled candidates," accessed January 8, 2026
  3. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Running for Office," accessed January 8, 2026
  4. ↑ General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Section 1: Definitions," accessed January 8, 2026
  5. ↑ Coalition for Healthy Democracy, "Frequently Asked Questions about the Coalition for Healthy Democracy and the All-Party Primaries," accessed January 8, 2026
  6. ↑ Coalition for Healthy Democracy, "Homepage," accessed January 8, 2026
  7. ↑ Taegan Goddard's Political Dictionary, "Jungle primary," accessed June 12, 2023
  8. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 12, 2023
  9. ↑ Encyclopedia Brittanica, "Primary Election," accessed June 12, 2023
  10. ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:410.3," accessed November 12, 2025
  11. ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:401," accessed November 12, 2025
  12. ↑ A 60% supermajority vote was needed to pass the amendment.
  13. ↑ 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
  14. ↑ WBUR, "Ballot questions on rent control, all-party primaries and legislative stipends expected to move forward," accessed November 19, 2025
  15. ↑ CommonWealth Beacon, "Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026," accessed November 20, 2025
  16. ↑ Worcester Business Journal, "Ballot initiative to recriminalize recreational cannabis sales receives certification," accessed December 19, 2025
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