Massachusetts Election Results 2026: Voting has ended

Most Massachusetts voters are not asked for identification, but you might need to show it when you check in. ID is required if you are voting for the first time in Massachusetts after registering by mail without submitting identification, if your name is on the inactive voter list, if your vote is challenged, or if a poll worker requests it. Acceptable identification includes a Massachusetts driver's license or any other printed documentation containing your name and address, such as a recent utility bill, rent receipt, lease or voter registration acknowledgment.

To register to vote in Massachusetts you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Massachusetts, 18 years or older, and not currently incarcerated by reason of a felony conviction. Residents who are 16 or 17 years old and meet the other requirements may pre-register and are automatically registered when they turn 18. The deadline to register, update your registration or change your party is 10 days before any election or town meeting.

In Massachusetts a felony conviction removes the right to vote only while you are incarcerated for it. The Secretary of the Commonwealth's registration requirements say a registrant must be 'not currently incarcerated by reason of a felony conviction', and the Voters' Bill of Rights says you may vote if you are not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and have registered as a voter after your release. People on probation or parole, and people in jail for a misdemeanor or awaiting trial, remain eligible under these terms.

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149, Section 178 applies to manufacturing, mechanical and mercantile establishments. It bars an owner, superintendent or overseer of such an establishment from employing, or permitting to be employed, any person entitled to vote at an election during the period of two hours after the polls open in the precinct, ward or town where that person votes, if the person applies for a leave of absence during that period. The statute does not address other kinds of employers or say whether the time is paid.