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Archive photo · 9 June 2025Massachusetts Voters Pass Public Records Expansion, Election Day Registration Measure
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Massachusetts voters approved expanded access to public records. Voters approved election-day registration expansion.
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Massachusetts ballot results
Massachusetts voters weighed a record-tying nine statewide ballot questions in the November election, with polls closing at 8 p.m. and results beginning coming in afterward.
“Question 1 to expand Massachusetts' public records law to include the Legislature and governor's office passed by a massive margin.”
Democrats swept nearly all of the competitive congressional races, setting the stage for divided government for the two remaining years of President Trump's second term, and Gov. Maura Healey won a second term and Sen. Ed Markey won a third term.
Question 1 to expand Massachusetts' public records law to include the Legislature and governor's office passed by a massive margin, with the “yes” side up about 86% to 14% as of this morning.
Question 4 to bring Election Day voter registration was called by The Associated Press just before 2 a.m., and the law takes effect in Jan. 1, 2028 so the presidential primary that March would be the first election it could be implemented.
WGBH said Question 5 and Question 7 remained too close to call as of Wednesday afternoon, with Question 7 showing “Yes” votes at 50.6% and “No” votes at 49.4% as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday with 94% of the votes counted.
Public records and gun votes
GBH said Massachusetts is the only state in the country where all three branches of government are exempt from having to share information about communications, reports and other public records, and it said voters made clear they want that to change.
The Associated Press projected the ballot question expanding public records would pass with more than 80% of the vote as of 12:14 a.m. Wednesday morning, bringing the governor’s office and state Legislature under the same public records law as state agencies and city and town governments.
GBH also said the Associated Press projected that the “no” votes would prevail on Question 8, which would have repealed recreational cannabis after 10 years.
The campaign fighting to keep Massachusetts gun control legislation from being repealed declared victory on Question 9, and Ruth Zakarin said, "This victory belongs to the people of Massachusetts, who through their votes said a resounding yes to protecting this legislation and keeping our communities safe from gun violence."
WGBH said Question 9 was a referendum on gun control legislation the state passed two years ago, and it described the law’s penalties for guns that are 3-D printed or built from kits.
Housing measure and tax cap
The Boston Globe described Question 7 as a measure to allow single-family home construction on smaller lots, with yes and no neck and neck Wednesday morning and 80 percent of the ballots tallied.
The Boston Globe said a “no” vote would make no change to the state law, leaving minimum lot size requirements to be determined on a town-by-town basis, while supporters said the question could increase construction of new homes and revitalize middle-class homeownership.
WGBH said Question 5 on changing the frequency of tax refunds had “No” votes ahead with 52% of the vote as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday with 95% of the votes counted.
Question 5 remained too close to call according to the Associated Press, and the Question 5 campaign conceded defeat just before 7:45 a.m.
The “Yes on 5” campaign that supported the measure conceded Wednesday morning, while Question 7’s “Yes” and “No” shares were 50.6% and 49.4% with 94% of the votes counted as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.