Tomorrow, November 3, 2026, is election day.
In places like Pittsfield, Greenfield and Holyoke, election security isn't about cable news drama, rather, it's about protecting every neighbor's vote. Local clerks across western Mass are working under strict protocols to make sure that tomorrow runs smoothly. While Federal agencies keep raising flags about cyber threats nationwide, reporter Colin Young of the State House News Service says Massachusetts is using paper to keep our local votes safe.
Colin Young, SHNS: Yeah, this is an area where Massachusetts is a little bit of an outlier nationally. And Secretary of State William Galvin is really proud of that. He says it's exactly what does protect voting in Massachusetts from some of these more modern risks, like cyber-crime. So, in Massachusetts, every voter casts a paper ballot, whether that's in person or by mail. Those ballots are then either counted by hand by an election worker or by an electronic tabulator.
And none of those electronic tabulators in Massachusetts are even connected to the internet. They don't talk to one another. They don't talk to a central location. They merely just count the ballots. And those ballots are also preserved, the actual paper ballots themselves.
So, if there's any issue with election results or when questions arise about results, there's always those paper ballots that election officials can go back to, and they can always hand count those ballots. If there's any issue or any question of the actual validity of the results.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: Are as those results trickle in tomorrow night, folks across the region, of course, watching the ballot questions closely, but winning at the polling booth isn't always the final word. When will those voter approved or disapproved measures actually take effect, and how much leeway does the Legislature have to step in and rewrite what passed?
So, ballot questions generally take effect within 30 days after certification, unless the question itself specifies a different date.
There's one difference on the ballot, question nine this year is seeking to repeal a 2024 gun law. A successful repeal would take effect as soon as those election results are certified, which is usually mid late November, sometimes early December. There's no other option for repeal if the 'no side' of question nine wins and that law is repealed, that would take effect as soon as those results are certified, the others would be 30 days.
And the Legislature does have a ton of leeway, because once a ballot question is in effect, it's a law just like all the other laws already on the books. And the Legislature can change or alter those laws by simple majority [vote].
Once lawmakers get back to work, what do you expect to be at the top of their agenda?
We know the first thing up is finishing off a 'Supplemental Budget' that will close the books on the budget year that ended back in June. That's one that is loaded up with all kinds of policy ideas from both the House and the Senate, and it looks like it isn't going to be fully resolved this week, maybe in the next couple of weeks.
We're also really watching whether any of the ballot questions that ultimately pass tomorrow come up immediately on the legislature's agenda. They may try to delay the effective date of some of those. They could try to change the laws themselves. That's something that we're going to really be watching closely.
Finally, turning to the state's balance sheet. The Massachusetts Lottery is trying a pretty unusual trick to boost lagging counter sales. Scratch tickets that smell like synthetic peppermint. But Massachusetts is not the first state to do so. 11 years ago, New Hampshire put out a bacon scented scratch ticket that ended up being a massive hit. So minty scents aside, what are officials saying about the loss of that money, and what could a drop in scratch off sales mean for local municipal budgets?
Yeah, this is what I think cities and towns are going to be watching very closely as this year plays out. Three months into this budget year, lottery sales are up about 16%. But all of that comes from online sales. And traditional retail sales are down about $81 million so far this year.
That's concerning for cities and towns because those retail sales fuel that unrestricted local aid. Online lottery revenue goes towards childcare grants. So that money is still going towards a state cause. But it's not going to cities and towns.
Scratch tickets are the largest product component of the lottery, so scratch ticket sales have a big role in how much money the lottery generates for cities and towns.
