The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division has certified final signature totals for initiative petitions seeking placement on the 2026 statewide ballot.

The following petitions met the required threshold of 74,574 certified signatures and have advanced to the next stage of the ballot qualification process.

At this stage, certification reflects only that sufficient signatures were submitted and validated.

Certified Initiative Petitions

• An Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement All-Party State Primaries – 79,032 signatures
• An Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases – 88,132 signatures 👎
• Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Election Day Registration – 87,408 signatures
• Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Reducing the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4% – 86,970 signatures 👍
• Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Regulating Marijuana – 78,301 signatures
• Initiative Petition for a Law to Improve Access to Public Records – 89,013 signatures 👍
• Initiative Petition for an Act to Reform and Regulate Legislative Stipends – 96,797 signatures 👍
• Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Labor Relations Policies for Committee for Public Counsel Services Employees – 86,153 signatures
• Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Limiting State Tax Collection Growth and Returning Surpluses to Taxpayers – 85,588 signatures 👍
• Initiative Petition for a Law to Protect Water & Nature – 89,216 signatures
• Initiative Petition for a Law to Allow Single-Family Homes on Small Lots in Areas with Adequate Infrastructure – 84,343 signatures

Among the questions that qualified, two stand out as constructive steps toward restoring affordability and competitiveness in Massachusetts. The proposals to reduce the state income tax rate from 5 percent to 4 percent and to strengthening the 62F tax rebate law to limit the growth of state tax collections while returning surpluses to taxpayers reflect a growing recognition that government has reached, and in many cases exceeded, what families and employers can reasonably afford. As residents continue to leave for lower-cost states, these initiatives signal a clear desire to rein in spending and allow taxpayers to keep more of what they earn.

Two certified questions address transparency and internal accountability on Beacon Hill: the Initiative Petition for a Law to Improve Access to Public Records and the Initiative Petition for an Act to Reform and Regulate Legislative Stipends. One would expand the state public records law to include the legislature, an issue that has long frustrated residents, journalists, and watchdogs seeking basic information from a major branch of government. Another would reform and regulate legislative stipends, reflecting ongoing concern that compensation decisions inside the Legislature lack sufficient scrutiny and clear standards.

By contrast, the qualification of the rent control initiative is a deeply troubling development. Massachusetts voters have already rejected government-imposed rent control, and the economic evidence has not changed: rent control suppresses housing production, discourages investment, and ultimately makes the housing shortage worse. Repackaging the policy under softer language does not alter its real-world consequences, and its advancement sets up a debate the Commonwealth has already settled.

Proposals to require voter identification and to make the state’s voter database public failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot. Regardless of where one falls on these policies, their absence means voters will not have the opportunity to directly weigh in on basic questions of election integrity, transparency, and public confidence in the electoral system this cycle.