Massachusetts
How to get a sample ballot for the November election in MA by mail or online
What you need to know about early voting
Election day is November 5, but some voters can cast their ballots as early as September.
Planning ahead for the Nov. election in Massachusetts? Sample ballots will be available online or by mail very soon.
Blank sample ballots are available for the upcoming statewide election on Nov. 5, when Massachusetts residents will be casting their votes for president, U.S. and state senator, U.S. and state representative and several other offices so voters can research and prepare ahead of their trip to the polls.
Five ballot measures will also be voted on in the upcoming election, with questions including the elimination of MCAS as a high school graduation requirement, unionization for transportation workers and minimum wage for tipped workers.
Here’s how you can see a copy of your blank sample ballot ahead of the election.
How to find your blank sample ballot online
Blank sample ballots will be available online in Massachusetts around early October, the Secretary of State’s office said.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will have sample ballots available on its website. Voters can use the Secretary of State’s election information page to enter their address and find a sample ballot.
In the meantime, the Secretary of State’s office has a list of the offices that will be on the ballot in the Nov. election on its website. Additionally, election encyclopedia Ballotpedia currently has a sample ballot lookup tool that lists the questions and offices that will be on the ballot.
How to request a sample ballot by mail in MA
Massachusetts voters who don’t have access to online ballots and want to instead receive a sample ballot by mail will have to request one from their local Town or City Clerk’s office.
The state does not send out sample ballots via mail unless it is requested by a voter.
The sample ballots will be available in clerk’s offices no later than Oct. 7, the Secretary of State’s office said.
What is a sample election ballot?
A sample ballot is a blank ballot that looks like the official one that will be used for an election.
Sample ballots are typically made available for voters ahead of an election so they know how to navigate the information when casting their vote. It should be clearly marked as a sample.
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Healey and Driscoll Administration has launched the SafetyWorks Initiative to enhance workplace safety across 160 organizations in Massachusetts.
The initiative includes $800,000 in grants aimed at training workers within these organizations, which collectively employ nearly 14,000 individuals.
Employers can apply for up to $25,000 in training grants through MassDOT.gov. The SafetyWorks Initiative is designed to improve safety standards and practices in workplaces throughout Massachusetts. By providing substantial grants, the administration aims to equip workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to maintain safer work environments.
Employers can apply for the SafetyWorks grants here.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WWLP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WWLP staff before being published.
Massachusetts
Live Wire: Nields’ Welcome Table Chorus concert to benefit Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
NORTHAMPTON — Two things that have an almost innate ability to bring people together are food and music.
And that combination will be the focus of an upcoming Welcome Table Chorus concert at Northampton’s Bombyx Center for the Arts on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. The evening will feature a massive chorus of singers and proceeds will benefit the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
The Welcome Table Chorus is the brainchild of Nerissa Nields of local folk duo The Nields. Nields said she had created a similar folk chorus when she was in college in the late 1980s.
“So, it’s something I’ve been interested in my entire life,” she said. “The college chorus was called Tangled Up in Blue and that was sort of a template for me.”
Although she is best known for her work with The Nields, who blend folk, rock and pop into their sound, Nields is no stranger to choral music. Along her music journey, she has created and conducted choruses for children, including one in Northampton which turned into three different groups and ran for five years until the pandemic hit.
Of course, COVID stopped most live music and community events in their tracks.
Then last April, Nields and her husband went to Boston with friends for the “No Kings” rally and one of her friends happened to be a parent of one of the children from a previous chorus.
“She asked me if I ever thought about starting a chorus for adults and said that if I did, she’d join it in a second,” Nields said.
The idea intrigued Nields, but initially she thought it would be too much work. But after mulling it a bit, she called her sister (and bandmate) Katryna, who had been running a few youth choruses already and asked her if that’s something she would want to do together.
“And she didn’t even hesitate. She immediately said ‘yes.’ But we debated it and went back-and-forth and wondered if it would be too much time or if we would lose our minds,” Nields said with a laugh.
In the end, the sisters decided to forge ahead.
“I think this is something that people need; we need to sing with other people and be in community with other people,” Nields said. “Especially with the twin things of people being more cautious and isolated after COVID and the political climate being what it is, it’s important that people do gather.”
So, they put out the word, expecting to get maybe 30 people.
They got 80.
“We started out with about 80 singers — there were no auditions so anybody could join. But people whittle themselves away, and now we have about 60 to 70,” Nields said.
The songs that will be performed are about inclusion, love, and activism, Nields said, but it will be a diverse set list. Some of the songs on the setlist include Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’, “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen, “Don’t Carry It All” by the Decemberists, and “Dreams” by The Cranberries.
The chorus will be singing all these tunes in four-part harmony and putting that together so quickly (the chorus just started in September) is a daunting task. But fortunately, Nields relied heavily on her former chorus work.
“A lot of the songs we chose were ones that we already had arrangements for,” she said.
The chorus itself is also diverse.
“It’s a mixture. I got all kinds of different all different kinds of people. Some are quite good, and some are complete beginners. I have some parents from the earlier choruses. We have people who are Nields fans, and we have people who don’t know anything about us,” Nields said. “I even have one of my classmates from college who is doing it 40 years later with her husband.”
Nields mused about why singing gives people a sense of community.
“I think there’s a kind of spiritual thing that happens, which would be kind of hard to define in words, but we all know it when we feel it,” she said. “But from a technical point of view, when you’re singing with other people – at least the way we’re teaching it – you really have to listen. You have to pay attention to what your neighbors are singing. You have to look each other in the eyes if you’re singing together. It’s pretty intimate.”
Two-thirds of Massachusetts parents polled support a ban on cell phones in school, a new MassINC report found, though nearly as many want an alternative means to contact their child during schooltime.
“Cell phone use in our schools is undeniably fueling distraction and undermining meaningful learning,” said Jennie Williamson, Massachusetts state director of EdTrust, which sponsored the poll from MassINC. “We appreciate legislative leaders for taking this issue seriously, and this poll makes clear that parents overwhelmingly share these concerns. Their strong support for a statewide ban should give lawmakers the momentum needed to carry this bill across the finish line.”
The MassINC poll found 26% of 6-12 grade parents “strongly support” and 40% “somewhat support” a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in public schools. The ban reflects a bill being considered in the state Legislature, which was passed by the senate over the summer.
The group polled about 900 Massachusetts parents of grades 6-12 students starting in September 2025. About 88% of parents polled reported their children have a phone or smartwatch.
The debate in Massachusetts comes as at least 33 states have enacted laws or policies banning or limiting cell phone use in schools, according to Ballotpedia. Advocates for the measure, including Gov. Maura Healey and AG Andrea Campbell, have cited the impact of cell phone usage on student distraction and mental health.
While the majority of parents polled supported the ban, another 63% say they would want a way to contact their child during school. In a focus group, parents cited concerns for their kids’ safety and their ability to contact them in an emergency.
Parents voiced broad concerns, asking questions like “What happens if they really need it?” and calling the climate of school violence and social media videotaping “very scary.” The parents’ answers also cited coordinating with their children about before and after school transportation and medical issues among concerns.
About half of parents said they would want more information about the policy and exceptions.
In Beacon Hill’s proposed ban, school districts would be required to implement policies including a “bell-to-bell” ban on usage of personal electronic devices. The legislation would also require districts to institute a method for parents or guardians and students to contact each other during the day if necessary.
District policies could also include exceptions for “necessary accommodations” for school and student health and safety under the bill.
The Massachusetts House has yet to take up the proposal, though House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz indicated interest in the measure in early November, saying the committee is “working through that right now.”
Multiple cities and towns across the state have implemented these school bans already, including in Methuen, Fall River and Newton. In Boston, dozens of schools have implemented bans as the district considers a broader policy.
The MassINC poll showed high support across race/ethnicity, with the strongest support among Asian American and Pacific Islander parents, 75%, and lowest among Black parents, 61%.
Support for bans also increased with the age of parents, with the highest support among those over 50 years old, educational attainment and salary.
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