Secretary of State William Galvin thinks Massachusetts citizens should be able to register to vote on Election Day, and he’s hoping voters will agree on Nov. 3.
Under current state law, residents who plan to vote on Election Day have to register to vote at least 10 days in advance, although there are some same-day registration options available for those who choose to vote early. Ballot Question 4, submitted as an initiative petition by Galvin, seeks to change that by allowing eligible voters to register on Election Day when they arrive at the polls.
The language of the petition states that voters looking to register at the polls would need to bring with them official proof of residency, such as an ID or bank statement, and sign a written oath that they are a United States citizen, over the age of 18 and live within the district they are trying to vote in. The measure adds that giving false information is a felony punishable by not more than five years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both.
Mary Lou Bouley with the Northampton League of Women Voters is urging residents to vote in favor of Question 4. Same-day registration is an idea the league has long advocated for as a way to increase participation in elections.
“You want to give voters every single opportunity possible to vote and this is one of the last barriers to doing it,” Bouley said.
Marie Gauthier with the neighboring Franklin County League of Women Voters agrees, saying that more voter participation creates a stronger democracy, seeing Question 4 as a clear way to do that.
“The right to vote for every eligible American has been a fundamental League principle since its origin, and as such, we support the removal of administrative obstacles to voting and registration. Removing those barriers to voting results in increased participation in voting and in the political process,” Gauthier said.
Currently, 24 other states and the District of Columbia allow same-day voter registration, with the first being Maine, where it was implemented in 1973. All New England states besides Massachusetts has same-day voter registration.
The proposal has gone before the Massachusetts Legislature several times in recent years, but has not made much progress. In 2024, “An Act Relative to Election Day Registration” was referred to the Joint Committee on Election Laws, which sent the bill to study, a polite way of killing the bill for the legislative session.
In February 2026, “An Act Relative to Election Day Registration” was sent to the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions, which recommended no action be taken and placed the bill on file.
Chris Ryan, the Republican State Committee member for the Franklin, Hampshire and Worcester district, said he is personally against the measure. The party as a whole has issued a “no” recommendation.
“Same-day voter registration opens the door to administrative errors, fraud and logistical nightmare that can undermine the integrity of our elections,” the MassGOP wrote in its ballot question guide.
The measure has been endorsed by the Democratic State Committee. It has also gained the support of town Democratic committees, including in Amherst and Athol.
“Of course, we need to make it easy to vote,” said Margot Parrot, co-chair of the Athol Democratic Town Committee.
Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR), a grassroots organization committed to progressive causes, is also urging a “yes” vote on Question 4, arguing in its ballot question guide that “this reform would increase voter turnout.”
The question has also garnered the support of Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
“Massachusetts is where American democracy began, and there is no better way to honor that legacy than by making sure every eligible resident is able to participate,” Healey said in a post shared to the Common Cause Massachusetts social media pages.
Clerk perspectives
Northampton City Clerk Pamela Powers said anything to get voters to the polls “would be a plus,” feeling Question 4 would help accomplish that.
“I am definitely for same-day voter registration,” Powers said. “As we’ve gone on and made changes to the expectations regarding voting we’ve been able to put checks and balances in place, and I don’t see this as any different.”
Powers said the measure would help a number of voters. Among those are people who have recently moved into a community, have an inaccurate address listed, or did not know they weren’t registered. With voters currently having to register 10 days prior to an election, there are people each year who miss out, Powers said.
She doesn’t see any downsides if the measure were enacted, but hopes that there would be a method to verify same-day registration voters.
“I can’t envision that we wouldn’t do a check to make sure they (same-day registration voters) didn’t vote in another community,” Powers said.
Greenfield City Clerk Kathy Scott said same-day voter registration could result in Election Day being “a little bit busier,” but what the day would ultimately look like and any changes she would need to make in how she runs elections would depend on what the Secretary of State’s Office says would need to be done to implement the measure.
“Whenever there’s a question like this, the secretary of state would provide us with guidelines. … The guidelines are going to be invaluable to us if this passes,” Scott said.
