Home/Election offices/Massachusetts
MA · official administration profile

Who runs elections
in Massachusetts?

Statewide authority, local administration structure, official voter links, and policy summaries from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and NCSL.

STATEWIDE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICE

Secretary of the Commonwealth

The title is reproduced from the March 2026 EAC/NCSL profile. Use the official state website for the current officeholder, contacts, election notices, and election-specific deadlines.

Open Massachusetts's election website →
WHO RUNS ELECTIONS LOCALLY

City Clerks, Town Clerks, Registrars and Election Commissioners

351 local election-administration jurisdictions are reported in the official profile. An address is required to resolve which local authority serves a voter.

Resolve from an address →
What this office actually does

Local Election Official: powers, limits, and control

Administers elections under state and local law, often year-round, through voter-list work, equipment, ballots, poll workers, reporting, canvass, and certification processes.

COMMONLY CAN

Maintain voter records and prepare election materials as assigned by law.

DOES NOT CONTROL ALONE

Change election law, eligibility rules, district boundaries, or certification standards at personal discretion.

Read the source-backed office guide →
State policy snapshot · not legal advice

How voting is administered in Massachusetts

These values are reproduced from the EAC/NCSL comparison profile. Asterisks refer to footnotes in the official PDF; always confirm election-specific dates and eligibility with the government office.

Primary systemOpen to unaffiliated voters
Registration deadline policy10 days before Election Day
Same-day registrationPermitted during part of the early voting period
Early in-person voting17 days before Election Day**
No-excuse absentee votingPermitted
Mail-ballot return policy5 p.m. on the 3rd day after the election***
Source: U.S. Election Assistance Commission / NCSL State Election Profile for Massachusetts · published March 2026 · verified 2026-08-24. Election.org has not generalized these rules beyond the source language.