By Record Petitions Cleared
Massachusetts is on track to shatter its own record for ballot questions in a single election. Up to 11 measures are potentially going before voters in November. These measures include ten citizen-led initiative petitions and one gun law repeal referendum.
Eleven citizen-led initiative petitions cleared the signature-gathering threshold. They were certified by the secretary of state’s office earlier this year. The gun law repeal referendum was already guaranteed a spot on the ballot.
The Legislature had until the first Wednesday in May to pass any of the 11 initiative petitions outright. It recommended no action on any of the measures. This was the same approach it took two years ago.
Court Challenges Loom
The Supreme Judicial Court heard challenges this week to four of the initiative petitions. If the court finds issues with the measures, it could remove them from the ballot entirely. It could also order a correction to the language.
The SJC generally issues rulings within 130 days of oral arguments. Last cycle, the court did not hand down its final word until June. The high court also weighed in with advisory rulings on two other ballot measures.
The Legislature requested these advisory rulings. It has been chafing against the ever-expanding suite of ballot initiative petitions. Its opinion that a measure creating new rules for legislative stipends was not appropriate for the ballot led to action.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the secretary of state’s office blocked the initiative this week. This decision removed one measure from the potential list.
Signatures and Next Steps
Campaigns now face a July deadline to collect an additional 12,429 signatures. They must do this to lock in a spot on the ballot. This requirement applies even to those whose questions are at risk of being tossed by the high court.
The primary report notes that nine questions are expected on the November 2026 Massachusetts ballot. This count comes from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division. Each petition submitted by the July 1 filing deadline surpassed the 12,429 certified signatures required.
Campaign organizers previously had to file at least 74,574 certified signatures during an initial round of gathering last fall. The certified signature counts for each of the nine pending petitions cover a wide range of policy proposals. The final tally depends on a pending State Ballot Law Commission decision.
A hearing on an objection to the retail marijuana petition recently concluded. The commission is expected to issue its ruling by Wednesday, July 22. This ruling will determine if the measure remains on the ballot.
