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Ballot measures must clear courts, lawmakers, and voters
November 26, 2025
Voters in Massachusetts could face a record 12 ballot questions in next year’s state election. But most of the questions still have to clear several hurdles before making it onto the ballot. Â
A major potential obstacle, one that has tripped up several would-be ballot referendums in recent years, is a court challenge that questions whether the measure, as crafted by proponents, can legally go before voters.
In 2024, Massachusetts stared down six potential ballot measures, four of which consumed the time of the Supreme Judicial Court for months and pushed a critical ruling on controversial state housing policy off to the next year.
Now the state could be heading toward an even messier collision of legal, legislative, and political forces.
As the secretary of state’s office certifies hundreds of thousands of signatures submitted on behalf of the proposed 2026 ballot questions, campaigns and ballot initiative veterans estimate about half of the questions could be vulnerable to legal challenges, though not all may materialize.
It sets up a busy next year of stress testing through courts assessing whether measures are appropriate for the ballot, lawmakers weighing whether to preempt questions through compromise legislation, and campaigns shifting into high gear to make their case to voters. Housing policy, taxes, and government transparency are among the issues that hang in the balance.
More Context
- ‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives (November 2025)Â
- DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again. (November 2025)Â
- Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026Â (November 2025)Â
Published by MassINC