Ballot 2026 Series
Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative
The Top-Two Primary Elections Initiative has officially qualified for the November 3, 2026 statewide ballot.
By Terri Teleen. Published August 17, 2026
If approved, the initiative would replace Massachusetts’ current primary election system with a single, open primary. All candidates would appear on a single primary ballot.
The two highest vote-getters for each office—regardless of party affiliation – would move on to the general election in November. This would apply to all statewide offices (Governor, Attorney General, etc.), the state legislature, U.S. House and Senate races, and other state elections (county and district offices).
At a glance: What’s at stake?
If passed, this Initiative would fundamentally alter the way Massachusetts voters elect candidates.
Massachusetts currently operates a “semi-closed” primary system, in which each party has its own ballot. Registered party members are required to select their party’s ballot and unaffiliated voters may vote in the primary of their choice. A voter can change their affiliation up until the 10th day before a primary. (See also the discussion about Ballot Question 4.)
Pros/Cons
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR
Advocates focus on Massachusetts’ many uncontested and/or low-turnout primaries. They generally argue
that, in the Commonwealth’s current primary system, elections are effectively decided before November, and
that a top-two system would broaden participation and competition.
Coalition for Healthy Democracy provides additional information on the “pro” view
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Opponents generally argue
that the proposed system could give outsized influence to Republican voters, (~8% of registered voters in Massachusetts are Republications) and business-aligned interests
that the current open-primary system already allows for independents to participate without restructuring the process.
Voter Rights MA provides more information on the “con” view.
National perspective
Three states – Alaska, California, and Washington – currently conduct open primaries. Please see Ballotpedia for more detailed information.
Map: Primary types currently in use. In two states—Nebraska and Louisiana—participation laws vary by the state or congressional office up for election. These states classification correspond to the default primary type for most offices in the map below. Credit: Ballotpedia.
Summary
A “Yes” vote supports shifting Massachusetts to a single, non-partisan primary in which the top two candidates, regardless of party, would proceed to the general election.
A “No” vote would preserve Massachusetts’ existing primary-election system, which ensures that at least one representative from each party appears on the General Election ballot.
Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1 in Massachusetts and Democratic primaries therefore tend to be far more hotly contested than GOP primaries. A top-two open primary would almost certainly splinter Democratic votes across many candidates—whereas the historically less fractious Republicans would coalesce around a few.
In other words, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which voters, who have historically voted Democratic, might split votes across, say, six House candidates and thus leave Republican candidates to place both first and second in terms of number of total votes cast.
This would be especially detrimental in a towns like Boxford and Middleton, which are always balancing on a knife’s edge in terms of registered Republicans and registered Democrats. (We are trying to change that; encourage friends to register as Democrats!)
Massachusetts voters will decide the future of this initiative on November 3, 2026.
Author recommendation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terri Teleen is a Boxford resident and Vice Chair of the Boxford Democratic Town Committee.
Subscriber recommendation
We received new fewer than 22 thumbs down for this proposal and a number of comments.
BoxfordDems Ballot-Measure Series
The BoxfordDems Ballot 2026 Series is our attempt at providing brief overviews of the various certified Massachusetts ballot initiatives as they pertain to our immediate region.
Overview of Ballot-Initiative Process (Christina Eckert)
Question 1
Expand Public Records Requirements for the Legislature and Governor’s Office? (Ellen Mandel)
Question 2
Permit Collective Bargaining for PCS Employees? (Christina Eckert)
Question 3
Adopt Top-Two State Primary Elections? (Terri Teleen)
Question 4
Permit Same-Day Voter Registration? (Eleanor Grigg Schoenberg)
Question 5
Change State Tax Revenue Limit Initiative? (Christina Eckert)
Question 6
Establish Nature-for-All Fund? (Jessica Grigg)
Question 7
Set Minimum Limit on Required Lot Size for Single-Family Homes? (Terri Teleen)
Question 8
Recriminalize Adult Recreational Use Marijuana? (Adam Steiner) (link)
Question 9
Uphold 2024 Act Modernizing Firearms Laws? (Julian Troake)
The graphic above represents our subscribers’ vote recommendations. The recommendations are also available as a PDF document, which is available for download here.
Opinions expressed in the series do not necessarily represent those of the Boxford Democratic Town Committee and should not be considered to be Committee endorsements of a particular policy or initiative. They are provided to promote healthy discussion and help voters make informed decisions at the ballot box
