Question 3: State Primary Elections
Massachusetts · Law Proposed by Initiative Petition · on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The ballot wording and the arguments for and against from the state’s official voter guide, in the state’s own words, each read the same way for rhetorical techniques. We don’t recommend a vote.
On the ballot
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Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026?
This proposed law would eliminate political party primaries for state elections and instead establish a system where there would be a single, all-party primary in which all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, would be listed on one ballot, and voters could vote for any candidate on the ballot. The two candidates receiving the most votes in the primary would advance to the general election ballot.
This proposed law would require candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run and be listed jointly on the ballot in the primary.
This proposed law would provide political party status to any group whose candidates for any statewide office received at least 3% of the ballots cast in the state primary.
A YES VOTE would eliminate separate party primaries for state elections and require a single primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot, voters could vote for any candidate, and the top two candidates would advance to the general election.
A NO VOTE would make no change to the laws governing primary elections.
From sec.state.ma.us. Checked 2026-10-20. Confirm with your official ballot (sample-ballot lookup).
Argument for
By Danielle Allen, Coalition for Healthy Democracy
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Massachusetts elected officials should work for us, not insiders. But for years insiders have held the advantage. Many elections are over before most of us ever cast a ballot. Candidates can be blocked at party conventions. Today, two-thirds of the legislature is running unopposed. They can take voters for granted and ignore important issues like affordable housing, energy costs, better schools, and the audit 72% of us demanded.
All-Party Primaries will bring accountability and transparency to Massachusetts politics by making elections more competitive, forcing politicians to listen. All candidates appear on your primary ballot, and the top two advance to November where they need a majority of votes to win. Insiders have less control and we get fresh voices running for office.
More competition means more accountability. Legislators who know voters can replace them listen to us and deliver real results.
Vote Yes on Question 3 for accountability and competition.
From sec.state.ma.us, the official voter guide.
Argument against
By Vanessa A. Snow, Voter Rights MA
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VOTE NO ON QUESTION 3
Similar top-two systems in California and Washington have favored wealthy, self-funded candidates who can out-advertise crowded fields and the corporate PACs seeking to purchase offices, while sidelining grassroots candidates and historically marginalized and underrepresented groups such as candidates of color and women. Third-party and independent candidates would be shut out of the general election, and working-class candidates would lose out on institutional support and access to party resources.
This proposal would limit voter choice by allowing only two candidates to advance to November — even if they belong to the same party — reducing competition, lowering voter participation, worsening inequities, and narrowing debate.
Massachusetts voters deserve real choices, not a system that rewards money and name recognition over community support. Vote No.
From sec.state.ma.us, the official voter guide.
Who’s behind it
Party positions: Massachusetts Democratic Party: Oppose · Massachusetts Republican Party: No
Committees registered to support or oppose Question 3, and what they reported to Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) - ocpf.us / api.ocpf.us. Checked 2026-10-21.
Before comparing the sides: each committee’s figures come from its own latest report, so they can cover different dates. Some committees work on more than one measure or other campaigns, and their totals include all of it. A side with no registered committee can still have supporters. How much a side raised says nothing about whether the measure is a good idea.
Supporting
Coalition for Healthy Democracy 2026
Ballot measure committee
Raised $7,595,386 · spent $6,925,723 · as reported through Oct 15, 2026
Largest contributors as filed:
- Peeler, David · $1,050,000 · individual
- Balson, Andrew · $790,000 · individual
- Bekenstein, Joshua · $500,000 · individual
- Nunnelly, Mark · $500,000 · individual
- Poler, Dwight · $300,000 · individual
- Conway, Brian J. · $300,000 · individual
Since then, $175,000 more reported in contributions of $1,000 or more, through Oct 19, 2026.
This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.
Opposing
Voter Rights MA
Ballot measure committee
Raised $189,454 · spent $50,060 · as reported through Oct 15, 2026
Largest contributors as filed:
- 1199 SEIU MA PAC · $100,000
Political action committee - MA Democratic State Committee · $63,346
Political party - Local 509 Service Employees Int'l Union Comm on Pol Ed, MA Workers' Pol Action Comm. · $10,000
Political action committee - Progressive Massachusetts · $5,925
501(c)(4) nonprofit - AFT Massachusetts Solidarity · $5,000
Other
Democratic Socialists Against Reactionary Rollbacks
Ballot measure committee
Raised $5,705 · spent $16 · as reported through Oct 15, 2026
Largest contributors as filed:
- Democratic Socialists of America, Inc · $5,000
501(c)(4) nonprofit - Massachusetts Democratic Socialists of America, Inc · $655
501(c)(4) nonprofit - Del Bonis, James · $50 · individual
This committee is registered for more than one measure; these are its whole totals, which its filings don’t divide by measure.
A rhetorical technique is about wording, not about whether a measure is a good idea or an argument is true. Ballot wording is written under each state’s own rules, and official arguments by the people the state names. All Massachusetts measures →