Massachusetts

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballot is 8pm on Election Day, November 5, 2024. If an absentee/mail ballot is deficient, the clerk will mark the ballot "Rejected as defective." Then, the clerk must notify each voter whose ballot was rejected as soon as possible. Unless the clerk determines there is clearly not enough time for a voter to return a new ballot, the clerk should proceed as if the voter requested a substitute ballot. You can track your absentee/mail ballot using your state’s online tool. If you voted a provisional ballot, your local election officials will research to verify if you’re an eligible voter. You can call the Elections Division at 1-800-462-VOTE (8683) after Election Day to check if your provisional ballot has been counted. 

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets. 

For information on state campaign contributions and financing, visit the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. OCPF - Welcome to the OCPF Home Page 

To see a list of available races, visit the Vote411 race index for Massachusetts 

Use this directory to find your local election office or drop box for returning your mail ballot. Ballots may be delivered in person to your local election office, a secured municipal drop box in your city/town, or any early voting location in your city/town during early voting hours.  Ballots may also be mailed via US Postal Service. Mail ballots cannot be delivered to the polls on Election Day; they must be taken to the election office on that day. 

In-person early voting is now available for both state primary and general elections. Check with your local election office - Elections: Find My Election Office (state.ma.us) for specific hours and locations. Those hours and locations will also be posted on the Secretary of State’s website starting five days before early voting begins.  

The next election dates can be found here https://www.vote411.org/massachusetts.

For more information, visit your election center or contact your local board of elections.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• You must be a United States citizen. 
• You must be 18 to register to vote.  You can pre-register to vote at 16 and will be automatically moved to the voting rolls when you turn 18. 
• You must not currently be incarcerated for a felony. 
• There is no state residency requirement to vote in Massachusetts. 

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Massachusetts, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

In Massachusetts, voters must provide a residence address for voter registration purposes. When providing the residence address, post office boxes should not be used. Individuals without a permanent or fixed home may draw a map in the designated box on their voter registration form to indicate the exact location of where they stay. They should write the names of the nearest streets and mark an X to represent their primary location. They may use dots to indicate schools, churches, stores, or landmarks near their residence, and include the name of the landmark.  

If the individual does not receive postal service at their residence address, they must provide a separate mailing address, including the number, street, city, state, and zip code. A post office box can be used for this purpose. 

You must attach identification to your voter registration form if you are registering to vote for the first time. If you registered to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003, you will be required to show identification when you vote for the first time in a federal election. However, you can also send in a copy of your identification with your voter registration form. Acceptable identification must include your name and the address at which you are registered to vote.

Examples include:

• A current and valid driver's license
• State issued identification card
• A current utility bill
• A bank statement
• A paycheck
• A government check
• Other government document showing your name and address

If you send in a copy of your identification with your mail-in voter registration form, it may not be returned to you. If you do not provide such identification, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that you may only cast a provisional ballot which will be counted later, but only after your eligibility to vote has been determined.

If you provide your driver's license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number on the voter registration form and those numbers are verified, you will not have to provide identification when you register to vote or at the polls. If you do not provide those numbers or if they cannot be verified (you will notified by your town or city clerk if that happens), then you have to provide identification either at town or city hall prior to the election or at the polls when you vote. Acceptable identification is a copy of any of the following:

• Current and valid photo identification
• Government check or official document showing name and address
• Current utility bill showing name and address
• Paycheck or stub showing name and address

You may be asked to show identification when you check in at your polling place for any of the following reasons: 

• You are voting for the first time in Massachusetts in a federal election; 

• You are an inactive voter; 

• You are casting a provisional or challenged ballot; 

• The poll worker has a reasonable suspicion that leads them to request identification. 

Acceptable identification must include your name and the address at which you are registered to vote. Examples of acceptable identification include:

• a driver's license
• state-issued ID card
• recent utility bill
• rent receipt
• lease
• a copy of a voter registration affidavit
• any other printed identification which contains the voter's name and address

It's a good idea to bring identification when you go to the polls. 

You are never required to show a photo ID to vote in Massachusetts. 

For additional information on identification requirements and provisional ballots, see the Secretary of State's website here. Elections: Identification Requirements (state.ma.us) 

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline.

Official results are never released on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

Mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day are counted in general elections if they arrive by 5 p.m. the third day after the election. Ballots from military voters are also counted if they arrive after the election. Provisional ballots will be counted within 12 days of Election Day.

Official election results are uploaded to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s website, as they become available. 

Official Results 

Complete information for military and overseas voters on how to receive a ballot and cast that ballot is here.  Elections: Military and Overseas Voters (state.ma.us)   

Poll workers are needed!  Local election officials hire poll workers.  Contact your town clerk or city election officer for information on eligibility, hours, training, and an application.  You can find that contact information here.  Elections: Find My Election Office (state.ma.us) 

If local election officials need additional poll workers, they can hire people regardless of where they live, their voter status, or their party affiliation.   Students age 16 and 17 may be eligible to be poll workers. 

Poll workers are paid for the hours they work. 

For all elections, except local elections, the polls must be open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Voters in line at 8 p.m. are entitled to vote. 

To find your polling place, go to Where Do I Vote.  My Election Info: Search (state.ma.us) 

Massachusetts has an open primary system. You can only vote using that party's primary ballot if registered with a specific party. If you are not enrolled in any political party, you can choose which party's primary ballot to cast. 

If you are unenrolled in a party and apply for a mail ballot for the primary election, you must specify which party ballot you want.   

Voters who find that they are not on the list where they believe they are registered to vote or find that they are listed incorrectly, have the right to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are sealed in an envelope and kept separately from other ballots until the voter's eligibility can be determined. If a provisional voter is determined to be registered, their ballot is unsealed and counted; if the voter is determined to be ineligible to vote, the ballot is destroyed without being examined. 

If you are in the correct precinct and your name is not on the list, ask the poll workers to contact the city or town hall to confirm your registration. If you have moved within the same city or town and you are still registered to vote at a previous address, you should vote at the polling place where you appear on the list. State law allows you to vote from a previous address if you have moved within a municipality. 

Your local election official may also check to see if you are registered in another city or town. If you have moved from one city or town to another municipality in Massachusetts, state law allows you to vote from your previous address for up to six months, as long as you have not registered to vote elsewhere. 

You will need to show identification to cast a provisional ballot, so it is a good idea to bring identification when you go to the polls. 

For detailed information about provisional ballots, click here.  Elections: Provisional Ballots (state.ma.us) 

All polling locations and early voting sites in Massachusetts are required to be accessible. Voting locations must provide access on a permanent or temporary basis on Election Day and throughout early voting. Voting assistance and absentee voting offer options that persons with disabilities may use to vote, but they are not considered substitutes for actual accessibility to the voting location. Accessible voting provides the same opportunity for access and participation to persons with disabilities as for other voters. 

A voter can choose someone to assist in entering the polling location, checking in, entering the voting booth, preparing the ballot, exiting the booth, and checking out. 

Voting via mail or absentee ballot at home is another option. Contact your local election official at least five days before an election to arrange for an electronically accessible mail ballot. 

If you have a disability that prevents you from marking a paper ballot, please contact your local election official. 

Both federal law and state requirements mandate that voting systems be equipped for voters with disabilities allowing such voters to have the same opportunity to vote privately and independently. It is required that every precinct must have at least one accessible voting machine available. 

There is at least one accessible marking unit in every polling place and early voting location in Massachusetts. The AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminals are marking devices that use audio cue capacity for visually impaired voters. The AutoMark also has a feature that will greatly magnify the ballot or display the ballot high contrast for voters that have limited visual impairment. The AutoMark can also produce an oral report to the voter as the choices are selected prior to the voter printing the ballot. 

The Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is committed to making voting as accessible for all voters. Please let us know how we can improve accessibility by calling us at 800-462-VOTE (8683) (toll free) or 617-727-2828. For deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired please contact us at TTY: 1-800-720-3480. You may also e-mail us at elections@sec.state.ma.us 

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Voter registration deadlines 

The deadline to register to vote is 10 days before the election.  Local election offices are open until 5 p.m. on the final day to register: 

Verify voter registration status 

You can verify your voter registration status online here.  My Voter Registration Status: Search (state.ma.us) 

Automatic voter registration 

If you are a U.S. citizen applying for or renewing a driver's license or state ID at the RMV, or applying for health insurance through MassHealth or the Commonwealth Health Connector, you will be automatically registered to vote, unless you opt out of registering. 

New Citizens 

If you are a new citizen who was naturalized after the last day to register to vote, you may register to vote in person at your local election office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election. You should bring documentation to show that your naturalization ceremony occurred after the voter registration deadline. 

For more detailed information on voter registration, see the Secretary of State’s website.  Elections: Voter Registration Information (state.ma.us) 

Not registered? Use our registration tool to fill out your application!

Voters employed in mechanical, manufacturing or mercantile businesses are allowed time off during the first two hours after the polls have opened only if an application for absence has been submitted.

To verify your voter registration status

The voting systems used in Massachusetts are optical scan and hand-counted paper ballots. 

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a paper ballot, which you take to a private table or booth. The ballot has the names of the candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or marker, you fill in a little box or circle next to your choices. When you are finished, you bring the ballot  to a tabulator, where poll workers will show you how to insert your ballot.   The tabulator checks your ballot and counts the votes at the end of Election Day. 

Hand-counted Paper Ballots: Hand-counted paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few small towns on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box. 

These systems use paper ballots which allow for recounts and post-election audits. 

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.