Massachusetts

On Election Day the polls must be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Municipalities can, at their discretion, open polls as early as 5:45 a.m. Voters should contact their local election officials to find out if their polls will be open before 7 a.m. on Election Day. Contact information for local election officials may be found at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleev/ev-find-my-election-office.htm

The Massachusetts tool for finding a voter’s polling place can be found at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/WhereDoIVote. 

On Election Day, voters should go to their assigned polling place.

Voters may register to vote online at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/ or download a registration form in English, Spanish, Chinese, Khmer, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, or Vietnamese.

Anyone who is a resident of a city or town of Massachusetts is eligible to register to vote. In Massachusetts, a voter’s residence is the place that the voter considers to be their principal home.

There are no requirements that a registered voter must meet to use a vote by mail ballot. Registered voters may apply for vote by mail ballot online through the Mail-in Ballot Application System.

Registered voters can also download or print a vote by mail application from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website:

• Official Vote by Mail Application
• Solicitud para votar por correo de 2022
• 2022 年郵寄投票申請表
• Đơn Đăng Ký Bỏ Phiếu Qua Đường Bưu Điện Năm 2022
• ពាក្យសុំ​បោះឆ្នោត​តាមសំបុត្រ​ឆ្នាំ​2022

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also mails application for vote by mail ballots to all registered voters and a request for a mail-in ballot can be made with a letter to the local election office that includes the registered voter’s name, address where they are registered to vote, address where they would like the ballot sent, and the voter’s signature. Registered voters may also call 1-800-462-VOTE (8363) to have an application mailed to them. An application for a vote by mail ballot may be mailed, faxed, emailed or hand-delivered to the local election office.

Registered voters (or a family member acting on their behalf) who will be away from their city or town on Election Day; have a disability that keeps them from voting at their polling place; or have a religious belief that prevents them from voting at their polling place on Election Day, may apply for an absentee ballot. The application for an absentee ballot can be downloaded or printed from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website in various languages:

• Official Absentee Ballot Application
• Peticion de Voto en Ausencia
• 缺席選票申請
• Đơn Đăng Ký Bỏ Phiếu Vắng Mặt
• ពាក្យសុំ សន្លឹកឆ្នោត សម្រាប់ អ្នក បោះឆ្នោត អវត្តមាន.

A registered voter may also request an absentee ballot with a letter to the local election office that includes the voter’s name, the address where they are registered to vote, the address where they would like the ballot sent and the voter’s signature. Registered voters may also call 1-800-462-VOTE (8363) to have an application mailed to them. An application for an absentee ballot may be mailed, faxed, emailed or hand-delivered to the local election office.
Each municipality chooses its own in-person early voting location and sets their own schedule. Voters should contact their local election office to obtain this information.

There are no ID requirements specifically for a voter that is casting their ballot by mail. 

A voter may be asked to show identification when they check-in at their polling place if:

• They are voting for the first time in Massachusetts in a federal election.
• They are on the inactive voter list because they failed to respond to their local annual census or to a follow-up inquiry from local election officials.
• They are casting a provisional or challenged ballot.
• The poll worker has a reasonable suspicion that leads them to request identification.

If a voter provides a driver’s license or other photo identification in response to a request for identification, the driver’s license or other photo identification must be “current and valid” (i.e., not expired.)

A voter who is unable to provide acceptable identification when requested must be given the opportunity to vote a provisional ballot. The voter must return to the polling place with acceptable identification before the polling place closes or the ballot will not be counted.

Voters must update their voter registration every time they move. Voters should update their address by submitting a new voter registration form. If a voter moves within Massachusetts after October 29, 2022, the deadline to register to vote for the November 8, 2022, elections, then the voter should update their registration after the election and vote at their previous polling place in Massachusetts. State law allows a voter to vote from a previous Massachusetts address in a state election for up to six months after they have moved, if they have not registered elsewhere. This applies for federal and state elections but not local elections.

Individuals who have moved to Massachusetts from another state after the registration deadline will not be able to vote in Massachusetts but may be able to vote in the state from which they moved. These voters may be able to take advantage of mail-in or absentee voters in the state from which they moved.

Military and other overseas citizens may use the standard procedure for absentee voting by mail, but there are also special provisions for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and merchant marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with family members of all these groups, and other citizens who reside outside the United States (together these groups are called UOCAVA voters). For more information on Voting Absentee, see “Voting Early, By Mail & Absentee.”

Registering and Requesting an Absentee Ballot

UOCAVA voters can use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to register to vote and to request an absentee ballot. Visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s webpage.

The spouse, roommate, parent, in-laws, brother, sister, son, daughter, stepparent, stepchild, half-sister, half-brother, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, grandparent or grandchild may request that a ballot be sent to an overseas or military voter using this form.

Receiving an Absentee Ballot

UOCAVA voters may receive their blank absentee ballots by U.S. Mail or electronic transmission. To request election transmission of the blank ballot, UOCAVA voters must mark the appropriate box and provide an email address on the State of Massachusetts “UOCAVA Application for Absentee Ballot” or on the FPCA webpage. Ballots must be returned via U.S. Mail, commercial carrier, or by hand delivery.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is a back-up ballot that can be used by UOCAVA voters. A voter can use this FWAB whether the voter is located inside or outside the United States (including APO and FPO addresses) if the voter is away from their voting residence for service-related activities. The voter must apply for a regular ballot early enough for their local election officials to receive the request at least 5 days before the election. If the voter does not receive their regular ballot in time, they may use the FWAB. Their FWAB must be received by their local voting officials in Massachusetts no later than noon on Election Day. Specific instructions are available on the FVAP’s Massachusetts-specific FWAB page.)

No one who is currently incarcerated in a correctional facility for a felony may register or vote. A person previously incarcerated for a felony must re-register after they have completed their sentence before they can vote.