Massachusetts Ballot Questions May Keep You in the Booth a While

Massachusetts voters have enough excuses for skipping out on Election Day, and the possibility of a record number of ballot questions on the 2026 statewide ballot could be another reason some will opt out of voting.

State officials have greenlit 12 initiative petitions to appear as ballot questions on this fall's statewide ballot, and that has folks such as myself concerned about how long it might take to vote.

Should I pack a lunch, a change of clothes, a pillow, and a sleeping bag?

Five questions appeared on the 2025 Massachusetts ballot, slowing down the voting process, at least where I vote, because some folks didn't pre-read the questions or decide how to vote in advance.

Making a snap decision while standing in the voting booth requires reading the pros and cons that accompany the ballot questions and then deciding how to vote. It is ill-advised and time-consuming, yet people do it all the time.

Imagine how this might play out with 12 ballot questions.

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Another concern is the likelihood that voters will have to fill out multiple ballot cards, since all 12 questions and the names of candidates for statewide office can't possibly fit on one ballot card.

Even two ballot cards might not be enough. Keeping track of multiple cards would be a nightmare.

Twelve ballot questions appear to be a record after reviewing statewide election ballots dating back to 1919. There were nine ballot questions in 1972, 1976, and 1994, and eight in 1948, 1986, and 2000.

Remarkably enough, there were no Massachusetts ballot questions in 1940, 1952, 1954, 1956, or 1984.