Skip to main content

BallotQuestions.vote is an independent, nonpartisan tracker. It is not a government website and not an election authority. For official ballot information, contact your state election authority.

Question 1

Question 1: Public Records Requirements for the Legislature and the Governor’s Office Initiative

On the ballot

Massachusetts · November 2026 general election · Citizen initiative · Election day November 3, 2026
Topics: Civil rights, Government structure

In plain language

Question 1 would apply the Massachusetts public records law to records held by the state Legislature and the governor's office, which are exempt from that law today. Papers, correspondence, financial records and similar documents held by those offices would become subject to public records requests. The measure sets out two exceptions: records related to the development of policy positions by legislators or the governor, and communications between a legislator's office and constituents about a constituent's access to government services. Massachusetts is the only state where the legislature, the governor's office and the judiciary are all exempt from the public records law.

Fiscal impact

No official fiscal note has been issued for this measure yet.

When the state publishes a fiscal analysis, it will appear here and be listed in the sources below.

What supporters and opponents say

These are summaries of arguments made by the named organizations, drawn from the sources listed below. They are their claims, not this site's, and this site takes no position on the measure.

What supporters say

  • The Coalition for Healthy Democracy, which is running the campaign for Question 1, says Massachusetts is the only state that exempts the legislature, the governor and the judiciary from its public records law, and that the ballot question is the way to close that gap after repeated bills failed on Beacon Hill.
  • State Auditor Diana DiZoglio (D), who contributed $150,000 from her campaign account to the effort, says documents she has sought for an audit of the Legislature are public records at every other entity that follows the public records law, and that voters should be able to obtain them directly.
  • The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Act on Mass, Progressive Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance have each said they support the measure.

Attributed to Coalition for Healthy Democracy, Progressive Massachusetts, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts.

What opponents say

  • Senate President Karen Spilka (D) says the petition as written may not exclude confidential constituent information in every circumstance, and that much of a legislative office’s work involves personal matters such as immigration status or domestic abuse.
  • The Massachusetts Senate challenged the petition before the Supreme Judicial Court; in April 2026 the court declined to rule on it, saying it would wait to see whether voters approve the law.

Attributed to the sources cited below.

Official ballot language

The certified ballot text is not yet available for this measure. Once the state certifies it, the verbatim wording will appear here.

Sources

Everything on this page traces to these sources. Follow them to read the original documents.

Last updated . How this page is sourced and corrected is described in the correction policy.