How to Register to Vote in Massachusetts

Updated Oct. 17, 2026. Deadlines and rules checked against official sources on that date.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3, 2026 Massachusetts state election is Saturday, Oct. 24, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The same deadline applies to updating your address or changing your party. Here is who can register, how to do it and how to check that it worked.

Who can register

You can register to vote in Massachusetts if you are a U.S. citizen, a resident of Massachusetts, at least 18 years old, and not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. Citizens who are 16 or 17 can pre-register; they receive a confirmation by mail and are added to the voter list automatically when they turn 18.

The deadline

State law sets the registration deadline at 10 days before any election or town meeting. For the 2026 state election that is Oct. 24. Online registrations must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. that day, and mailed forms must be postmarked by that date. There is one exception: if you became a U.S. citizen after the deadline, you may register in person at your local election office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election, bringing proof that your naturalization ceremony took place after the deadline.

Three ways to register

Online. If you have a signature on file with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, you can register, pre-register, update your name or address, or change your party designation through the state’s online voter registration system.

By mail. Print, complete and sign the state’s voter registration form and mail it to your local election office. If you are registering in Massachusetts for the first time, include a copy of identification that shows your name and address; if you do not, you may be asked for ID the first time you vote.

In person. You can register at your city or town clerk, election commission or board of registrars, at the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division in Boston, or at the Secretary’s regional offices. Forms completed in person take effect the day they are signed.

Automatic registration

Massachusetts automatically registers eligible citizens who complete certain transactions with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, MassHealth or the Commonwealth Health Connector, as long as the agency has proof of citizenship. Automatic registration does not change the party of someone already registered. New registrants are enrolled as Unenrolled, commonly called independent, and can choose a party afterward. If you move, you should still update your registration: you are only re-registered automatically when you complete one of those specific transactions.

Party enrollment and primaries

When you register you may enroll in a political party or political designation, or remain unenrolled. Enrollment matters mostly in primaries: party members vote in their own party’s primary, and unenrolled voters may choose a party ballot. The deadline to change party for an election is the same as the registration deadline. Party enrollment does not affect which candidates you can vote for in the November general election.

Check your status before you vote

Use the state’s voter registration status lookup to confirm that you are registered and at which address. Then look up your polling place and sample ballot with the state’s “Where Do I Vote” tool. If you think you should be registered but are not listed when you arrive at the polls, you have the right to cast a provisional ballot, which election officials will count if they confirm you were eligible.

Election Day registration is on the ballot

Massachusetts does not currently allow voters to register at the polls. Question 4 on the 2026 ballot asks whether eligible citizens should be allowed to register or update their address at their polling place on Election Day. Whatever the outcome, the Oct. 24 deadline applies to this election. Our Question 4 page has the official summary.

After you register

Registered voters can vote early in person from Oct. 17 to Oct. 30, by mail (applications due by 5 p.m. Oct. 27) or at their polling place on Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. See the Massachusetts Election Tracker for every race and question on the ballot, and our guide to how Massachusetts elections work.