More than 600,000 mail-in ballots are already on their way to Massachusetts voters for the November 3, 2026 election, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office said this week, and local election officials expect to send about 300,000 more in the coming days, Boston 25 News reported. If one of them is yours, or you are still deciding whether to ask for one, this guide covers the rules from start to finish: the deadlines, the ways to return a ballot, how to check whether it counted, and what happens if something goes wrong.
Everything below comes from the mail-voting statute, G.L. c. 54, § 25B, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s vote-by-mail guidance. Your city or town clerk is the final word on local hours and drop box locations.
The key dates for November 3
- Register to vote: Saturday, October 24.
- Apply for a mail ballot: must be received by your local election office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. That is the fifth business day before the election, the deadline set by § 25B(a)(2). A postmark does not help: the Secretary’s office says “no matter when the application is postmarked, your application must be at the local election office by the deadline.”
- Early voting in person: Saturday, October 17 through Friday, October 30. Hours vary widely by town.
- Return your ballot by hand or drop box: before the polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.
- Return your ballot by mail: postmarked on or before November 3 and received by 5 p.m. on Friday, November 6.
Our full election deadline calendar has the rest.
Step 1: Getting a ballot
Massachusetts has no-excuse voting by mail for state elections. Any registered voter can ask for a ballot. There are several ways to apply:
- The state’s mailer. State law requires the Secretary to mail every registered voter an application, with return postage paid, at least 45 days before a biennial state election. § 25B(a)(7). You can use it to request a ballot for November only, or for every election this year.
- Online. The Secretary’s Mail-in Ballot Application System lets registered voters apply online. If you just registered or changed your address, give your local office a few days to process it first.
- A signed letter. The statute says “any form of written communication evidencing a desire to have an early voting ballot sent” counts as an application. A signed letter to your clerk works.
- Email or fax. Allowed, but the application must carry a signature that can be compared to your handwritten one. The Secretary’s office says scanned applications and photos are fine, but a typed signature is not, unless you are a voter with a disability who needs that accommodation.
- A family member. A family member may apply on your behalf. They must state their relationship to you and sign under the pains and penalties of perjury. § 25B(a)(3).
The Secretary’s office advises applying two to three weeks before Election Day, and notes that the Postal Service recommends allowing up to seven days for delivery. An application that arrives on October 27 leaves very little time for a ballot to go out and come back.
Step 2: What is in the envelope
Under § 25B(a)(10), your ballot packet must include:
- instructions for voting by mail and for completing the ballot;
- an inner envelope with an affidavit you sign, and a notice of the penalties for illegal voting; and
- an outer envelope pre-addressed to your local election office, with postage paid.
The ballot goes in the inner envelope. The inner envelope goes in the outer one.
Step 3: Sign the affidavit. This is where ballots get rejected
When your ballot arrives, the local election official opens the outer envelope, examines the inner envelope without opening it, compares the signature on it with the signature on your application, and examines the affidavit. § 25B(a)(14).
If the affidavit “has been improperly executed or does not sufficiently indicate that the ballot was marked and mailed or delivered as required,” the official marks it “Rejected as defective.” The law then requires the official to notify you and send you a new ballot. That is why returning a ballot early matters: a ballot rejected on October 20 can be replaced in time. One rejected on November 6 cannot.
The signature comparison does not apply when a family member signed the application or when the voter had help signing.
Step 4: Four ways to send it back
Under § 25B(a)(13), you or a family member may return a mail ballot by:
- Mail, in the prepaid envelope.
- Hand delivery to your city or town clerk’s office.
- An early voting location in your city or town, during early voting hours.
- A secured municipal drop box for the city or town where you are registered.
Two traps:
- You cannot drop your mail ballot off at a polling place on Election Day. The Secretary’s office says so in bold. On November 3, bring it to the clerk’s office or a drop box before 8 p.m., or keep it and vote in person instead.
- Use your own town’s box. The statute says the drop box must be “for the city or town where the voter is registered.” A ballot left in the next town’s box is in the wrong place.
Step 5: The deadlines for the ballot itself
Ballots delivered by hand, to a drop box or to an early voting site must be received before the polls close on Election Day. For a biennial state election like this one, the statute adds a grace period for mail: a ballot “mailed on or before the day of a biennial state election shall be accepted until 5 p.m. on the third day after the election.” For November 3, that is 5 p.m. Friday, November 6. “A postmark, if legible, shall be evidence of the time of mailing.”
That grace period is for the November state election only. In primaries and local elections, a mailed ballot has to arrive by the close of polls.
Step 6: Check that it counted
The Secretary’s Track My Ballot tool shows the date your ballot was mailed to you, the date it was returned, and whether it was accepted or rejected. Check it after you send your ballot back. If it shows “rejected,” call your clerk.
Changed your mind? What you can still do
You made a mistake on the ballot. You can ask for a replacement. Under § 25B(a)(12), a request for a substitute ballot is valid only if it comes with the spoiled ballot and reaches your clerk before 5 p.m. on the fifth day before the election. By our count that is Thursday, October 29 for the November 3 election. Confirm with your clerk.
You want to vote in person instead. According to the Secretary’s office, you can vote at an early voting site or at your polling place on Election Day if any of these is true:
- you applied to vote by mail but never returned the ballot;
- you mailed it back but it has not reached your local election office; or
- it reached the office but was rejected.
If you vote in person and your mail ballot arrives afterward, the mail ballot is rejected.
You already returned it and it was accepted. Then you have voted. “You can’t take your ballot back or vote again,” the Secretary’s office says, and the statute agrees: “Once an early voting ballot is cast, the voter shall not vote again.” § 25B(d).
Other situations
- Voters with disabilities. A voter who cannot independently mark a paper ballot can apply for an accessible ballot that can be filled out electronically and, in some cases, returned electronically. § 25B(a)(4).
- Military and overseas voters. Use the Federal Post Card Application or the Massachusetts absentee application.
- If a voter dies after mailing a ballot. The ballot is not invalid “solely because the voter became ineligible to vote by reason of death after casting the ballot.” § 25B(e). A ballot counts as cast once it is in the mail, delivered to the clerk or a drop box, or voted in person.
- When ballots are counted. Clerks may open mail ballots and feed them into tabulators before Election Day, in public sessions with notice, but no results may be determined or announced until the polls close. Disclosing results early is a crime. § 25B(h).
Does the federal fight over mail voting affect Massachusetts?
Massachusetts mail voting rules are set by state statute. We looked at how the president’s executive order on mail voting interacts with them here.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Massachusetts?
Your application must be received by your local election office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the fifth business day before the November 3 election. Postmarks do not count for applications.
When does my mail-in ballot have to arrive?
If you mail it, it must be postmarked by November 3 and received by 5 p.m. on Friday, November 6. If you hand-deliver it or use a drop box, it must be in before the polls close at 8 p.m. on November 3.
Can I drop my mail-in ballot off at my polling place?
No. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office says ballots cannot be dropped off at a polling place on Election Day. Use your town’s drop box or clerk’s office, or vote in person instead.
How do I know if my mail-in ballot was counted?
Use the Secretary’s Track My Ballot tool. It shows when your ballot was mailed, when it was returned, and whether it was accepted or rejected.
What if my ballot is rejected?
If the affidavit envelope is defective, the law requires the clerk to notify you and send a new ballot. You can also vote in person if your mail ballot was rejected.
I requested a mail ballot. Can I still vote in person?
Yes, as long as your mail ballot has not been received and accepted by your local election office. Once it is accepted, you cannot vote again.
Can someone else return my ballot?
A family member can. Section 25B(a)(13) allows a mail ballot to be returned “by the voter or a family member.”
Sources: Boston 25 News, October 7, 2026 (ballot counts, citing the Secretary of the Commonwealth). G.L. c. 54, section 25B read in full at malegislature.gov. Secretary of the Commonwealth, Vote by Mail guidance page, read October 7, 2026. Deadline calendar confirmed against the Secretary’s November 3 election listing in our earlier reporting. General information about Massachusetts election law, not legal advice. Your city or town clerk is the authority on local hours and drop box locations.