By DJ Cence

While the 2026 election might feel far away, the process is well underway for some as a fresh crop of ballot initiatives have been filed for Massachusetts voters to consider. This month, 47 initiatives have cleared the first stage of the process to make it onto the ballot. Not all 47 petitions are unique, however. It is common for petitioners to file multiple versions of the same petition with slightly different language to ensure at least one has the best chance of making it on the ballot in November.

Relative to later stages, the first stage is easy. Petitioners must create language and secure the signatures of ten registered Massachusetts voters before submitting the petition to the Attorney General’s office by the first Wednesday in August. With a long road ahead for petitioners in the state, let’s explore what the next year will look like for petitioners and Massachusetts voters.

How the Ballot Process Works

The process begins with filing the petition with the Attorney General’s office for certification. The Attorney General’s role is to determine if the subject is appropriate and constitutional for inclusion on the 2026 General Election ballot.

One example of a ballot initiative that was terminated at this stage was ranked choice voting in 2024 as a result of a longstanding rule that if a measure is defeated on the ballot, it cannot be reintroduced for at least six years. Ranked choice voting was voted down in the 2020 general election, and is now eligible once more for ballot inclusion in 2026. The Attorney General has historically certified petitions within one month of filing, or by the first Wednesday in September.

While very uncommon, the Attorney General could get involved outside of certification. Back in 2024, a coalition seeking to maintain gig drivers’ status as independent contractors filed a ballot initiative ahead of potential litigation proposed by the Attorney General. The initiative did not make it to the ballot as the relevant companies were able to reach an agreement with the Attorney General before the election.

Petitioners who complete the first step can then apply to secure petition forms from the Secretary of State’s office to begin their signature collection process. They then have until the first Wednesday in December to secure signatures totaling at least three percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the primary gubernatorial election, which is 74,574 signatures this year. This stage is the most challenging step for petitions without substantial financial backing or a high-profile issue to promote.

Once the necessary number of signatures have been received, the petition is passed to the legislature to act. The legislature has the ability to pass a law that addresses the petition, effectively removing it from the ballot. Legislative intervention is increasingly rare and has not been used in over a decade.

The last measure to reach a conclusion in the legislature was Right to Repair in 2012. In that case, the measure was not passed by the legislature until after the ballot deadline had expired, so it was included. The measure ultimately was passed by voters (despite having already been negotiated by legislators), however the language passed in the legislature was the final language of the law.

If no action is taken by the first Wednesday in May, petitioners may advance to the final round of signature gathering. The final round of signatures for a petition must equal at least 0.5 percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the primary election, which is 12,429 signatures this year, and must be submitted before the first Wednesday in July. If this stage is completed, the initiative will be included on the ballot in the November general election.

Where is Massachusetts Now?

The current batch of initiative petitions will be certified by the Attorney General’s office in the coming days and will soon begin the process of securing signatures for the Secretary of State’s office. For petitioners with more robust funding, it is common to hire a firm experienced in gathering signatures to ensure they are able to pass this stage. More grassroots initiatives will need to rely on volunteer work and the capabilities of their staff to secure their signatures before the deadline.

While the end of this process remains more than a year away, the ballot process has been historically informative on the state’s legislative and political priorities for the upcoming election cycle, specifically on voter priorities. We are interested to see which initiatives garner the most attention throughout this process.

What’s Next for the State?

In recent elections, initiative petitions have proven to be an effective vehicle at moving legislation that has been stalled on Beacon Hill for various reasons, whether the subject is controversial or not seen as a top priority. Campaign financing for the most heated ballot races has reached astonishing highs year over year, with spending reaching nearly $20 million per side in some cases.

The end of this process is still far away, but we are interested to see what types of petitions complete this process and see the most contested races in next year’s election.