Written By: Dan Shibilia
Methuen voters heading to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, will see the longest list of statewide ballot questions since 1994. Nine measures await you on the ballot, covering public records, public defender unions, primary elections, Election Day registration, state tax revenue, conservation funding, housing, marijuana sales and firearms. According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and news reports, ballots in most Massachusetts cities and towns are expected to run two to three pages.
TL;DR
Early voting in Methuen starts this Saturday, October 17. The deadline to register to vote or update a registration is Saturday, October 24. With reports of voters being listed as inactive on their city or town voter lists occuring all over the country, election officials and voting rights groups are urging residents to check their status now, while there is still time to fix a problem.
You can check your status here on the MA Secretary of State website: Voter Status.
Here are the key dates you should be aware of as we prepare for a multipage ballot.
The Nine Statewide Ballot Questions
Questions 1 through 8 are laws proposed by citizen initiative petition. Question 9 is a referendum asking voters whether to keep or repeal an existing law, the firearms law the Legislature passed in 2024. Each question becomes binding law if a majority of voters approve it. The wording below follows the official summaries and yes and no vote statements published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law
What it does: Would make most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. It would exempt documents related to the development of public policy, and communications between legislators and constituents that are reasonably related to a request for help getting government benefits or services or dealing with a government agency.
A yes vote: Would make most records held by the Legislature and the governor's office public records.
A no vote: Would make no change to the Public Records Law.
Question 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees
What it does: Would specify that employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state agency whose staff includes public defenders, may engage in collective bargaining with their employer. After signing a bargaining agreement, the agency would have to ask the governor for the money needed to fund it.
A yes vote: Would specify that Committee for Public Counsel Services employees may form a union to bargain collectively.
A no vote: Would make no change to the law governing labor relations for these employees.
Question 3: State Primary Elections
What it does: Would eliminate party primaries for state elections and replace them with a single all party primary. All candidates, whatever their party, would appear on one ballot, voters could choose any candidate, and the top two finishers would advance to the general election. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor would run jointly. Any group whose candidates for a statewide office won at least 3 percent of the primary ballots would receive political party status.
A yes vote: Would eliminate separate party primaries for state elections and create one primary in which the top two candidates advance.
A no vote: Would make no change to the laws governing primary elections.
Question 4: Election Day Registration
What it does: Would let eligible people register to vote, or update the address on their registration, at their polling place on Election Day. They would need proof of residency, such as a photo ID, utility bill, bank statement or lease, and would sign an oath under penalty of perjury. Someone without proof could cast a provisional ballot that counts only if the proof is supplied within the deadlines in the law. People already registered could not change their party enrollment on Election Day.
A yes vote: Would permit eligible citizens to register or update their address at their polling place on Election Day.
A no vote: Would make no change to the laws governing voter registration.
Important for this year: the proposed law would not take effect until January 1, 2028. For the November 3, 2026 election, the registration deadline is still Saturday, October 24.
Question 5: State Revenue Limit and Rebate
What it does: Would limit the revenue the state can collect in a year to the prior year's net revenue, increased by the average growth in Massachusetts wages and salaries over the most recent three years. Any excess would be refunded to taxpayers the following year. Revenue from the surtax on incomes over $1 million would be counted. It would take effect July 1, 2027.
A yes vote: Would change the limit on state revenue collection as described above and provide for a rebate of revenue above the limit.
A no vote: Would make no change to the law on state revenue collection.
Question 6: Natural Resource Conservation Fund
What it does: Would create a Nature for All Fund. Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, it would receive 50 percent of state sales and use taxes on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses in its first year, and 100 percent after July 1, 2028. The money could be spent on natural resource conservation, including protecting land and water and creating or improving parks, trails and green spaces. A 15 member board would oversee it. It would take effect July 1, 2027.
A yes vote: Would create a fund for natural resource conservation financed by some state taxes on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf course use.
A no vote: Would not create the fund or change how those sales and use taxes are spent.
Question 7: Single Family Homes
What it does: Would allow a single family home to be built in a residentially zoned area if the lot is at least 5,000 square feet, has at least 50 feet of frontage on a street or public way, and has access to public sewer and water. Cities and towns could still reasonably regulate things like height, distance from neighboring buildings, open space, parking and short term rentals.
A yes vote: Would allow single family homes on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in residential areas, subject to reasonable local regulation.
A no vote: Would make no change to the law on building single family homes.
Question 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana
What it does: Would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate and tax the retail sale of recreational marijuana. Adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce, with no more than 5 grams of concentrate, and gift that amount to another adult. Possessing between one and two ounces would bring a $100 civil penalty and forfeiture. Licensed recreational businesses could apply on an expedited basis to become medical marijuana dispensaries, and the Cannabis Control Commission would regulate only the medical market. It would take effect January 1, 2028.
A yes vote: Would prohibit the legalization, regulation and taxation of retail sales of adult recreational use marijuana and change the penalties for possession.
A no vote: Would make no change to the law on marijuana.
Question 9: Firearms Regulation (Referendum on an Existing Law)
What it does: This is a referendum on the firearms law approved by the House 124 to 33 and the Senate 35 to 5 on July 18, 2024. The law, among other things, lets school administrators and licensed health care providers ask a court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order, penalizes untraceable ghost guns and requires serial numbers on most firearms, requires a person to be 21 to own a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun, expands the definition of machine gun to include devices such as bump stocks and Glock switches, and bars carrying firearms in government buildings, polling locations and schools with certain exceptions.
A yes vote: Would keep the law in place.
A no vote: Would repeal the law.
Where to Read More
The Secretary of the Commonwealth's Information for Voters booklet, known as the Red Book, was mailed to every registered voter household in September. It includes the full text of each proposal, the official summaries, and arguments for and against. It is also available at www.VoteInMA.com. The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (lwvma.org) and CommonWealth Beacon (commonwealthbeacon.org) have published explainers, and the League has taken positions on some questions. Readers should weigh those groups' stated positions alongside the official arguments.
How to Register to Vote
Voters must be registered by Saturday, October 24, to vote in this election. To register in Massachusetts you must be a U.S. citizen, a Massachusetts resident, and at least 18 years old by Election Day, and you cannot be currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. Sixteen and seventeen year olds can preregister.
Online: Go to www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr (also reachable through www.VoteInMA.com). If you have a Massachusetts driver's license or state ID, you can register or update your information online.
By mail: If you do not have a Massachusetts driver's license, use a paper registration form. Mailed forms must be postmarked by October 24.
In person: Forms are available at the City Clerk's Office, 41 Pleasant Street, Searles Building, Room 112, and at the early voting site. Call 978.983.8515 to confirm options for the final day.
If you have moved, even within Methuen, update your registration by the same deadline. Without an update, your name may not be on the list at your new precinct.
Check Your Registration Status Now
Check at www.sec.state.ma.us/voterregistrationsearch, or through www.VoteInMA.com, or call the City Clerk at 978.983.8515. The look up shows whether you are registered, your party enrollment, and your voting precinct.
About voters who have been "unenrolled" or made inactive
Some residents say large numbers of voters have been "unenrolled" lately. In Massachusetts, "unenrolled" has a specific meaning: a registered voter who is not enrolled in any political party. That is a normal status and does not affect your right to vote. What has worried voters is something different: being listed as inactive, or being dropped from the voter list altogether.
Recent reporting by the Dorchester Reporter describes lifelong, regular voters in Boston who found themselves listed as inactive, and notes that high inactive rates were also seen in some gateway cities outside Boston. Voting rights advocates have questioned the statewide inactive figure, which the state reported at about 15 percent in 2024. The ACLU of Massachusetts told the newspaper it is not seeing the kind of voter suppression in the state that has been reported elsewhere. This article did not find published inactive voter figures for Methuen specifically. Residents with questions can ask the City Clerk.
Here is how the state says the process works:
Voters who do not return the annual city census are placed on the inactive list. They remain registered and can still vote.
Inactive voters stay registered until they fail to vote in two consecutive biennial state elections, after which they are removed from the list.
If you are listed as inactive, your status appears on the voter list when you check in at the polls. You will need to show identification and sign an Affirmation of Current and Continuous Residence, which restores you to the active list.
You are also restored to active status by filling out a new registration form or by submitting something to election officials, signed under penalty of perjury, that confirms your address.
If the look up shows you are not registered at all, you must register by October 24. After that date, you cannot register for this election. Separately, a federal judge in Boston dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit in April that sought the state's full voter list, the Boston Globe and WGBH reported. That case concerned access to the list, not local list maintenance.
Three Ways to Vote
Early voting in person
Early voting runs from Saturday, October 17, through Friday, October 30, at Sanborn Hall, Public Safety Building, 90 Hampshire Street. All registered Methuen voters may vote early. The City of Methuen has posted the following schedule. Once an early ballot is cast, it is final, and you cannot vote again on Election Day.
Questions about early voting can go to the City Clerk's Office at 978.983.8515. The state also lets you search early voting locations and times by city or town at www.sec.state.ma.us/earlyvotingweb/EarlyVotingSearch.aspx.
Voting by mail
Any registered voter can vote by mail without giving a reason. Every registered voter was mailed an application earlier this year. If you have not applied, the City Clerk must receive your request by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, but apply as soon as you can. Track your application and ballot at www.TrackMyBallotMA.com.
Return your ballot by mail, postmarked on or before November 3 and received by 5 p.m. on Friday, November 6.
Or use the secure drop box outside City Hall at 41 Pleasant Street, ground level entrance, or deliver it to the City Clerk or an early voting site.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth recommends that if you have not mailed your ballot within a week of Election Day, you use a drop box or return it in person so it is counted.
Election Day, Tuesday, November 3
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. is entitled to vote. Your polling place depends on your precinct. Methuen is divided into East, Central and West districts with multiple precincts. A precinct map is posted on the City of Methuen Voting and Elections page at www.methuen.gov/856.
Where Do I Vote?
Enter your home address at www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com. It will show your Election Day polling place, your early voting site and times, and the items on your ballot. Polling places can change between elections, so look it up even if you have voted in the same place for years.
What to Bring and Other Things to Know
Identification: Most Massachusetts voters do not need ID. You may be asked for it if you are voting for the first time in Massachusetts, are listed as inactive, cast a provisional or challenged ballot, or a poll worker has a legal reason to ask. Acceptable proof typically includes a driver's license, state ID, recent utility bill, rent receipt or lease.
Bring your own research: The ballot is long. Marking a sheet at home from the Red Book can save time in the booth.
Party enrollment and primaries: Unenrolled voters can choose which party's ballot to take in a state primary. A voter who wants to switch parties must update the registration before the deadline.
Voters with disabilities: The Secretary of the Commonwealth's Elections Division lists accessible voting options at www.sec.state.ma.us.
Problems at the polls: Ask the poll worker to call the City Clerk to confirm your registration. If there is still a dispute, ask for a provisional ballot.
Methuen Election Contacts
Office of the City Clerk (chief election officer)
Anne Drouin, City Clerk
41 Pleasant Street, Searles Building, Room 112, Methuen, MA 01844
Phone: 978.983.8515 | Email: cityclerk@methuen.gov
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to noon
Official sources
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2026 State Election Ballot Questions (official ballot wording, yes and no vote statements, nonbinding district questions): www.sec.state.ma.us, Elections Division
Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2026 Information for Voters (the Red Book) and Your 2026 Voting Options: www.VoteInMA.com and www.sec.state.ma.us
Register to vote online: www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr
Check your registration: www.sec.state.ma.us/voterregistrationsearch
Find your polling place and ballot: www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com
Early voting locations and times by city or town: www.sec.state.ma.us/earlyvotingweb/EarlyVotingSearch.aspx
Track your mail ballot: www.TrackMyBallotMA.com
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Inactive Voters page: www.sec.state.ma.us, Elections Division, Voting Information
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Find My Local Election Office and Dropboxes (Methuen listing): www.sec.state.ma.us, Elections Division, Voter Resources
Mass.gov, Protecting Your Right to Vote (eligibility and ID guidance): www.mass.gov
City of Methuen
Voting and Elections page, precinct map, and districts: www.methuen.gov/856
Office of the City Clerk: www.methuen.gov/182
News Flash notices, including "Methuen Announces Early Voting Schedule for November 2026 Election" and "Vote by Mail Applications Arriving for 2026 Elections": www.methuen.gov and cityofmethuen.net
News and nonprofit sources
CommonWealth Beacon, "Massachusetts 2026 ballot questions, explained": commonwealthbeacon.org
CBS Boston, "Here are the 9 ballot questions Massachusetts voters will consider in the November e