Reported by us | Fall River

14 races and 9 questions on Fall River's ballot today, polls open until 8 p.m.

The city prints three ballot styles. They differ only in the state representative race, and all three of those House races are contested. Mail ballots returned in person must be in the drop box or the Elections Department by 8 p.m.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Nov. 3, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 3, 2026, 11:26 a.m. ET

FALL RIVER Every Fall River voter will find 14 races and nine statewide questions on the ballot today, Tuesday, Nov. 3, printed on two cards, according to the city's official specimen ballots. All polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Elections Department's precinct list says, and a voter who is in line by 8 p.m. can still cast a ballot, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters guide.

The city prints three ballot styles, one for each of the three state House districts that divide Fall River. Thirteen races are the same on all three. The 14th, for state representative, changes with your ward and precinct, and all three of those races have a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot. No local question appears on any of the city's ballots.

The 13 races on every Fall River ballot

Here they are in the order the ballot prints them, with each candidate's party or designation and hometown. The ballot lists the governor tickets by last name only and prints "Candidate for Re-election" under incumbents in every other race, and this list does the same.

• U.S. senator: Edward J. Markey of Malden, Democratic, candidate for re-election; John Deaton of Bolton, Republican; Shiva Ayyadurai of Belmont, Independent; Joe Tache of Boston, Socialism and Liberation.
• Governor and lieutenant governor, one vote for a ticket: Healey and Driscoll, Democratic; Minogue and Oliver, Republican; James and Kittredge, Independent.
• Attorney general: Andrea Joy Campbell of Dartmouth, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Michael C. Walsh of Lynnfield, Republican.
• Secretary of state: William Francis Galvin of Boston, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Anne R. Brensley of Wayland, Republican.
• Treasurer: Deborah B. Goldberg of Brookline, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Elizabeth Dionne of Belmont, Republican.
• Auditor: Diana DiZoglio of Methuen, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Al Ozonoff of Medford, Libertarian.
• U.S. representative, 4th District: Jake Auchincloss of Newton, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Thomas Stalcup of Brookline, Republican.
• Governor's Council, 1st District: Joseph C. Ferreira of Swansea, Democratic, candidate for re-election, the only name on the ballot.
• State senator, 1st Bristol and Plymouth District: Michael J. Rodrigues of Westport, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Gabriel Boomer Amaral of Fall River, Republican.
• Bristol County district attorney: Seth Thomas Aitken of Swansea, Republican; Christopher Matthew Markey of Dartmouth, Democratic.
• Bristol County register of probate: Thomas Cleary Hoye Jr. of Taunton, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Melanie Patenaude Layden of Taunton, Independent.
• Bristol County treasurer: Christopher T. Saunders of New Bedford, Democratic, candidate for re-election, the only name on the ballot.
• Bristol County commissioner: John Thomas Saunders of New Bedford, Democratic, candidate for re-election, the only name on the ballot.

The 4th District race is in our story on Auchincloss and Stalcup, and SC360 also looked at the district attorney candidates' campaign money and the register of probate race.

Your state representative race depends on your precinct

The city's ballot page lists which precincts get each style, and each ballot carries the same list in its heading:

• 7th Bristol, ballot style 175, for Ward 1 Precincts B and C, all of Wards 2, 3 and 4, and Ward 5 Precinct A: Alan Silvia of Fall River, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Talos D. Farris of Fall River, Republican.
• 8th Bristol, ballot style 177, for Ward 1 Precinct A and Ward 6 Precincts A and B: Steven J. Ouellette of Westport, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Jesse W. St. Gelais of Acushnet, Republican.
• 6th Bristol, ballot style 173, for Ward 5 Precincts B and C, Ward 6 Precinct C and all of Wards 7, 8 and 9: Carole A. Fiola of Fall River, Democratic, candidate for re-election; Robert G. Anctil of Freetown, Republican.

Every South Coast House and Senate race, contested or not, is in our legislative races story.

Two cards, nine questions

Card 1 holds every race on the front and Questions 1, 2 and 3 beside them, with "Vote both sides" printed at the bottom. Its back holds Questions 4 to 7. Card 2 holds Questions 8 and 9. Questions 1 to 8 are proposed laws that reached the ballot by initiative petition after the Legislature took no vote on them before May 6, 2026, and Question 9 is a referendum on a firearms law the Legislature passed in July 2024, as the ballot and the Secretary's Information for Voters guide describe them. For each question, here is what it is about, drawn from the Attorney General's official summary printed on the ballot, and then what a yes vote would do, quoted from the ballot. On Questions 1 to 8, a no vote leaves current law as it is.

• Question 1, Expanding the Public Records Law. What it is about: whether the state public records law should cover the Legislature and the governor's office. The proposed law would make most records they hold public records, but would exempt documents about developing public policy and lawmakers' communications with constituents who ask for help getting government benefits or services or dealing with a government agency. A yes vote "would make most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law."
• Question 2, Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees. What it is about: union rights for employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state agency set up so that people who cannot afford a lawyer get one in criminal and some family law cases, as the Legislature's committee report in the Secretary's guide describes it. The proposed law would let those employees bargain collectively with the agency and would have the agency ask the governor for the money to pay for any contract it signs. A yes vote "would specify that Committee for Public Counsel Services employees may form a union to collectively bargain with their employer."
• Question 3, State Primary Elections. What it is about: how candidates for state offices reach the November ballot. The proposed law would replace separate party primaries with one primary listing every candidate, whatever their party, and the top two vote getters would advance. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor would run together in the primary, and a group whose statewide candidate drew at least 3% of primary ballots would get party status. A yes vote "would eliminate separate party primaries for state elections and require a single primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot, voters could vote for any candidate, and the top two candidates would advance to the general election."
• Question 4, Election Day Registration. What it is about: registering to vote on Election Day itself. Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the proposed law would let an eligible person register, or update their address, at the polling place in their own precinct during voting hours by showing proof of residency and signing a written oath. Someone without proof of residency could cast a provisional ballot that counts only if they bring the proof back in time. A yes vote "would permit eligible citizens to register to vote or to update their voter registration address at their polling place on Election Day."
• Question 5, State Revenue Limit and Rebate. What it is about: a cap on how much tax revenue the state can collect in a year. Starting July 1, 2027, the proposed law would hold each year's state revenue to the year before's, plus the average growth of Massachusetts wages and salaries over the last three years, refund anything over the cap to taxpayers the next year and count revenue from the surtax on incomes over $1 million toward the cap. A yes vote "would change the limit on state revenue collection, tying it to prior year collections plus average wage and salary growth, and provide for a rebate of revenue exceeding that limit."
• Question 6, Natural Resource Conservation Fund. What it is about: setting aside some state sales tax money for conservation. The proposed law would create a Nature for All Fund that, subject to the Legislature's appropriation, would receive 50% of state taxes on the sale and use of sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses in its first year and 100% after July 1, 2028. The money could conserve or restore land to protect drinking water, rivers, lakes, coasts, farms and forests, and create or care for parks and trails, through state agencies, cities and towns, conservation charities and tribal governments. A yes vote "would create a fund that could be utilized for natural resource conservation that would receive some state taxes collected on the sale and use of sporting goods and recreational vehicles, and the use of golf courses."
• Question 7, Single Family Homes. What it is about: building single-family homes on smaller lots. The proposed law would allow a single-family home in any residentially zoned area on a lot of at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of frontage on the street and access to public sewer and water. Cities and towns could still reasonably regulate the homes' height, distance from neighboring buildings, open space, parking and short-term rentals. A yes vote "would allow single-family homes to be built on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in residential areas, subject to reasonable local regulation of certain aspects of those homes."
• Question 8, Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana. What it is about: ending legal retail sales of recreational marijuana. Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the proposed law would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate and tax those sales, while letting people 21 and older possess, or give another person 21 or older, up to 1 ounce, with no more than 5 grams of concentrate. Possessing 1 to 2 ounces would bring a $100 civil penalty. Licensed recreational businesses could apply on an expedited basis to become medical marijuana dispensaries, and the Cannabis Control Commission would regulate only the medical market. A yes vote "would prohibit the legalization, regulation, and taxation of the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana, and change the penalties for possession of marijuana."
• Question 9, Firearms Regulation. What it is about: whether to keep a state gun law the House passed 124 to 33 and the Senate passed 35 to 5 on July 18, 2024. Among its changes, the law lets school administrators and licensed health care providers ask a court for an extreme risk protection order, requires serial numbers on all firearms except antiques and relics and penalizes untraceable "ghost gun" firearms, requires a person to be 21 to own semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, and bars carrying firearms in government buildings, polling places and schools, with certain exceptions. A yes vote "would keep in place the law, which increases the regulation of firearms, including ghost guns, machine guns, and assault-style weapons," and a no vote would repeal it.

Arguments for and against each question, as the Secretary's guide prints them, are in our guide to the nine questions.

Where to vote

Fall River's 27 precincts vote at 12 polling places. St. Anthony of the Desert Church hall and the old Nagle Building at Durfee High School serve four precincts each, and the Atrium at Government Center serves three.

Mail ballots today

A mail ballot cannot be turned in at a polling place, the Elections Department said in its Oct. 29 reminder. Mail ballots returned in person must reach the Elections Department, Office 636 at One Government Center, or the ballot drop box outside the building's Third Street entrance by 8 p.m. today. Ballots sent through the U.S. Postal Service must be postmarked by today, and the city will accept them until 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6. Voters must seal both ballot cards in the envelope, the reminder says, and must sign the affidavit on it, or the law requires the ballot to be rejected as defective.

After the polls close

Absentee and early voted ballots handed in to the Elections Department by 8 p.m. today will be counted at a post-election tabulation in the Atrium at One Government Center starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in one continuous session open to the public, according to a city notice dated Oct. 29. SC360 reported on that count Oct. 29, and the city's two-card ballot is in our Oct. 17 story.

Election night results for Fall River and every South Coast community will be posted on the SC360 Election Center after 8 p.m., as each clerk releases them. SC360's interactive voter guide, Your South Coast ballot, race by race, lets you pick your town and, in split cities like Fall River, your ward and precinct to see your own races. What to bring to the polls is in our Election Day guide, and the Elections Department, led by Chief Elections Official Ryan Lyons, answers questions at 508-324-2630.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from Fall River's three official specimen ballots, the Elections Department's polling locations list, its Oct. 29 mail ballot reminder and Oct. 29 post-election tabulation notice, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters guide, all listed below. We read them Nov. 3. Names, parties, hometowns and the incumbent mark are as the ballots print them, and the yes-vote statements are quoted from the ballot. Each question's description summarizes the Attorney General's summary printed on the ballot; the description of the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Question 2 is from the Legislature's committee report in the Secretary's guide. We compared the three ballot styles race by race, counted the precincts and polling places ourselves and checked each date and weekday against a calendar.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (5)

1. City of Fall River: Official Specimen Ballot, Biennial State Election ballot styles 175, 177 and 173Every race, candidate, party, hometown and incumbent mark in ballot order; the wards and precincts for each style; Questions 1 to 9 on two cards; no local question. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
2. City of Fall River Elections Department: City of Fall River Polling LocationsPolling place and address for each of the 27 precincts; open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; phone 508-324-2630. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
3. City of Fall River Elections Department: Absentee and Mail-In Ballot FINAL Reminder, Oct. 29, 2026Drop box and Office 636 by 8 p.m. Nov. 3; no mail ballots at polling places; postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by 5 p.m. Nov. 6; seal both cards, sign the affidavit. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
4. City of Fall River Elections Department: Public Notice, Post Election Tabulation, Oct. 29, 2026Absentee and early voted ballots handed in by 8 p.m. counted Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m., Atrium at One Government Center, open to the public. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
5. Secretary of the Commonwealth: 2026 Information for VotersVoters in line by 8 p.m. may vote; question titles, the Attorney General's summaries and the yes and no statements, which match the ballot; the Legislature's committee report on Question 2. Read Nov. 3, 2026.

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