The whole country is counting down to the much-anticipated midterm elections, which will determine the congressional sway of a divided country and serve as a referendum of sorts on the presidency of Donald Trump.
While Massachusetts isn’t a battleground state, there’s still excitement, which could be seen when Islanders congregated at Five Corners in Tisbury as one of more than 3,000 No Kings rallies that took place across the country on Saturday — the same day early voting began in Massachusetts. This time, rather than purely anti-Trump messaging, the focus was to encourage voters to go to the polls.
Bay State voters will have a chance to cast their ballots for nine statewide questions on issues ranging from a more robust public information law to the prohibition of the sale of recreational marijuana, to changes to state law that would pave the way for more affordable housing.
Early voting is taking place until Oct. 30, and the state election is on Nov. 3 from 7 am to 8 pm. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
And there’s still time to register to vote. Oct. 24 is the last day someone can register to vote or change parties, and vote-by-mail applications will be accepted until Oct. 27. Voter registration and mail-in ballot applications can be found on the state Elections Division website.
This midterm election arrives amid concerns about the possibility of the Trump administration’s seeking to interfere with results, which was the focus of the messaging at the No Kings rally last week.
Carla Cooper, one of the rally organizers from Indivisible Martha’s Vineyard, estimated between 200 and 250 people showed up at Five Corners for the rally. Cooper said the goal was to encourage early voting in person if possible, especially with fears among election officials and constitutional scholars that the Trump administration might interfere.
Election experts say they fear an array of risks, from the federal seizure of ballots and voting equipment to troop deployments and immigration raids near polling places. These concerns stem from the fact that Trump, whose approval ratings hit a new low of 36 percent this week, according to both Fox News and CNN, has made no secret of the White House’s desire to exert control over the election process.
Cooper said that it is critical for people to register to vote, and to vote early and in person, if possible. “We don’t want people left behind,” she said.
So what’s on the ballot, and where do Islanders vote?
The ballot questions
Vineyarders will be voting on nine binding, statewide ballot questions this election cycle. The state Elections Division provides full guides on all ballot questions.
Question 6 is a ballot measure that’s received recent attention from Vineyard conservation organizations. It proposes establishing a fund that collects money from the sales tax from sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses. The money would be used for conservation activities like protecting natural resources and expanding outdoor recreational spaces. Supporters like Mass Audubon argue this is a way to fund efforts like storm resiliency and pollution reduction without raising taxes. But it would require the reallocation of funds supplied by sporting goods sales taxes.
And for the housing-squeezed Vineyard, Question 7 could help bring some smaller units to the Island. It proposes a law that would allow single-family homes to be built in residentially zoned areas on lots of at least 5,000 square feet that have at least 50 feet of land bordering the street and access to public sewer and water services. This would significantly reduce the minimum lot requirements for residential buildings on the Island, which range from 10,000 square feet in some down-Island towns’ residential zones to three acres in Chilmark and West Tisbury.
Towns would be able to regulate some elements of the homes, such as building dimensions and open-space requirements, and whether short-term rentals were allowed. Supporters say this is a way to increase affordable homes and provide a space for young people to raise families and for seniors to age in place. But opposers argue this is a one-size-fits-all approach that circumvents local control and ignores local control conditions, such as the environment and existing infrastructure. And on the Island, there is uncertainty on how many homes the rule would bring, with the public sewer access requirement.
Question 10 is the only nonbinding question that is appearing in 11 districts. Dukes County voters are asked whether their representative should “vote in favor of legislation regulations to reduce the House speaker’s and Senate president’s control over state legislators’ stipends,” and whether this extra pay should be given only to legislators who do a significant amount of additional work that is publicly “transparent and accountable.”
Other questions include proposals to have the state legislator and the governor’s office be subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (Question 1); allow employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services to engage in collective bargaining with their employer (Question 2); replace political party primaries in state elections with a ballot that features candidates from all parties and advances the top two candidates in each race to the general election (Question 3); allow voters to change their addresses on the day of elections (Question 4); limit the amount of revenue the state can collect (Question 5); prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana (Question 8); and amend the state firearms regulations to include school administrators and licensed healthcare providers as people who can ask a court to require individuals to surrender firearms and licenses/permits if they present a danger to themselves or others, and place a ban on so-called ghost guns and parts, which are often untraceable because they’re privately made through means like 3D-printing (Question 9).
The candidates
Unlike in the primary elections in September, which only featured Democrats and Republicans, candidates from other political parties will appear on voters’ ballots in November.
The Island has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party, making it a challenging climb for candidates from other parties and those running as independents. All of the incumbent state officeholders and congressional representatives are members of the Democratic Party.
Gov. Maura Healey, a popular incumbent, has already sparred in two televised debates against her Republican challenger, Mike Minogue, who served in the U.S. Army and is CEO of medical device firm Abiomed, the two clashing over issues including abortion rights, housing, and federal immigration crackdowns. The alleged rape that occurred at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Oak Bluffs in August also sparked a fiery exchange between the candidates.
Healey has a stronger pull among voters so far. A poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB found the incumbent governor to have a 25-point lead over Minogue, who was viewed as aligning with President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll unexpectedly has one fewer opponent since Shawn Oliver, who was Minogue’s running mate, suspended his campaign. Oliver dropped out of the race after being charged for allegedly operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol Saturday night, when New Bedford Police responded to a call of a car that had struck several parked vehicles and then flipped over. Following the incident, Minogue expressed he was “extremely disappointed,” and said he would ask Oliver to resign if elected.
On Monday, Minogue confirmed publicly that there would be no lieutenant governor in his administration, if he is elected.
The less-covered candidates are in the James-Kittredge ticket, an independent bid for the state’s top elected position. Andrea James is a seventh-generation Massachusetts resident who owns a home in Oak Bluffs, where her family seasonally visits, and is making a bid for governor. She is a former criminal defense and real estate conveyance lawyer. Kayla Kittredge, who is running as James’ running mate, is a Middlesex Community College student.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who has been in his seat since 2013 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 37 years before that, is defending his seat from John Deaton, a Bolton Republican who served in the U.S. Marines and is a trial attorney. Markey and Deaton appeared in a televised debate to make their cases to voters. Candidates who did not appear in the debate but are on the ballot include Joe Tache, a Boston social activist and youth worker in the Socialism and Liberation Party, and Shiva Ayyadurai, an independent from Belmont who holds four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but is better known for being the self-proclaimed inventor of email and promoting conspiracy theories. Ayyadurai was briefly in the Island’s spotlight in 2021 after he uploaded a now-deleted video of when he appeared as a guest speaker for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School civics class.
Incumbent Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, is facing Michael Walsh, a Lynnfield Republican and attorney who is litigating cases against Campbell’s office. William Galvin is seeking to continue his more than three-decade tenure as secretary of state against Anne R. Brensley, a Republican entrepreneur and former Wayland Select Board member. Incumbent Treasurer Deborah Goldberg is facing Elizabeth Dionne, a Republican serving as the Belmont Select Board chair. Incumbent Auditor Diana DiZoglio is running against Al Ozonoff, a Medford Libertarian and data systems expert. And Bill Keating, the longtime 9th District Congressman, is running against R. Tyler Macallister, a Republican businessman and fisherman who served on the Mattapoisett Select Board.
Meanwhile, a local focus in this election has been on those running to be on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) and the Dukes County Commission (DCC). The majority are aiming for re-election, and none of these races are contested, but a few MVC candidates — incumbents Mary Bernadette Budinger-Cormie, Mike MacKenty, and Jannette Vanderhoop — are conducting write-in campaigns after paperwork lapses excluded them from the ballot. Candidates appearing on the ballot for DCC include Tristan Israel of Tisbury, Randal Scot Milch of Chilmark, Douglas Ruskin of West Tisbury, Christine Todd of Oak Bluffs, Richard Wharton of Oak Bluffs, Michael Charles Bellissimo of West Tisbury (new candidate), and Kate Putnam of Edgartown, who is running for both commissions as a nonincumbent. Other MVC candidates include Ben Robinson of Tisbury, Ernest Douglas Sederholm of West Tisbury, Brian Conway Smith of Oak Bluffs, and Frederick Khedouri of Chilmark (new candidate).
Daphne DeVries, who’s running for Dukes County register of probate, is also running unopposed.
Several incumbents for state office are running uncontested as well, including Rob Galibois, who secured the Democratic nomination for Cape and Islands district attorney in a landslide victory against his opponent Mike Giardino in the September state primaries. Other uncontested candidates include Julian Cyr for Cape and Islands senator, Thomas Moakley for state representative, and Joseph Ferreira for the councillor of District 1.
Remaining in-person voting schedules
Aquinnah
Polling location: Aquinnah Town Hall, 955 State Road
Dates/times: Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23, 10 am to 12 pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 am to 1 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, and Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10 am to 12 pm; Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, 10 am to 12 pm.
Town clerk: Kayla Darcy, 508-645-2304
Chilmark
Polling location: Chilmark Town Hall, 401 Middle Road (early voting); Chilmark Community Center, 520 South Road (state election)
Dates/times: Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 23, 1 to 3 pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 to 11 am and 3 to 5 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Oct. 30, 1 to 3 pm.
Town clerk: Jennifer Christy, 508-645-2107
Edgartown
Polling location: Edgartown Town Hall, 70 Main St.
Dates/times: Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 23, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Town clerk: Karen Medeiros, 508-627-6110
Oak Bluffs
Polling location: Oak Bluffs Town Hall, 56 School St. (early voting), and Oak Bluffs Public Library (state election)
Dates/times: Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 23, 9 am to 4 pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Oct. 30, 9 am to 4 pm.
Town clerk: Amy Del Torto, 508-693-3554, ext. 120
Tisbury
Polling location: Tisbury Emergency Services Facility, 215 Spring St.
Dates/times: Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 23, 12 to 4 pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Oct. 30, 12 to 4 pm.
Town clerk: Hillary Conklin, 508-696-4215
West Tisbury
Polling location: West Tisbury Public Safety Building, 454 State Road
Dates/times: Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 23, 8 to 11 am; Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Oct. 30, 8 to 11 am.
Town clerk: Tara Whiting-Wells, 508-696-0148
