Reported by us | New Bedford

14 races and 9 statewide questions on New Bedford's ballot today, polls open until 8 p.m.

Thirteen races are the same citywide. The 14th, for state representative, is in one of five House districts, matched to your ward and precinct, and three of those five are contested.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Nov. 3, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 3, 2026, 4:45 p.m. ET

NEW BEDFORD Every New Bedford voter will find 14 races and nine statewide ballot questions on the ballot today, Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's list of candidates. Polls at all 41 of the city's precincts are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and a voter who is in line by 8 p.m. can still cast a ballot, the Secretary's 2026 Information for Voters guide says.

Thirteen of the races are the same in every ward. The 14th, for state representative, depends on where you live: New Bedford is split among five House districts, and the Secretary's precinct returns from the Sept. 1 primary show which precincts vote in each. The city prints five ballot types with two cards each, the Board of Election Commissioners says, and printed specimen ballots have been available at City Hall, Room 114.

The 13 races on every New Bedford ballot

Candidates are listed here in the order and with the party or designation the Secretary of the Commonwealth's list gives, with each candidate's hometown where the list gives one.

• U.S. senator: Edward J. Markey of Malden, Democratic; 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; Michael C. Walsh of Lynnfield, Republican.
• Secretary of state: William Francis Galvin of Boston, Democratic; Anne R. Brensley of Wayland, Republican.
• Treasurer: Deborah B. Goldberg of Brookline, Democratic; Elizabeth Dionne of Belmont, Republican.
• Auditor: Diana DiZoglio of Methuen, Democratic; Al Ozonoff of Medford, Libertarian.
• U.S. representative, 9th District: Bill Keating of Bourne, Democratic; R. Tyler Macallister of Mattapoisett, Republican.
• Governor's Council, 1st District: Joseph C. Ferreira of Swansea, Democratic, the only name listed.
• State senator, 2nd Bristol and Plymouth District: Mark C.W. Montigny of New Bedford, Democratic; Robert Scott McConnell of Fairhaven, 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; Melanie Patenaude Layden of Taunton, Independent.
• Bristol County treasurer: Christopher T. Saunders of New Bedford, Democratic, the only name listed.
• Bristol County commissioner: John Thomas Saunders of New Bedford, Democratic, the only name listed.

Shawn Oliver, a New Bedford city councilor, is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, on the ticket with Mike Minogue. The Minogue campaign said last month that Oliver had left the race, but the deadline to withdraw passed Sept. 4 and his name stays on the ballot, as SC360 reported Oct. 19. A vote for a governor ticket counts for both of its candidates.

More on these races: the 9th Congressional District race, the district attorney candidates' campaign money and the register of probate race.

Your state representative race depends on your precinct

Ward 1 is split among four House districts, and Wards 3 and 4 are split between two. These are the five races, with the precincts that vote in each, as the Secretary's Sept. 1 primary returns place them:

• 8th Bristol, Precincts 1B-1 and 1C: Steven J. Ouellette of Westport, Democratic; Jesse W. St. Gelais of Acushnet, Republican.
• 9th Bristol, Precincts 1D, 1E and 1F: Edward M. Pacheco of Dartmouth, Democratic; Chester M. Tam of Dartmouth, Republican.
• 10th Bristol, Precincts 1A, 1B and 1C-1: Mark D. Sylvia of Fairhaven, Democratic; Brendalee A. Smith of Fairhaven, Republican.
• 11th Bristol, Precinct 1A-1, all of Ward 2 (2A to 2F), Precincts 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3F-1, and Precincts 4A-1, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4F: Christopher M. Hendricks of New Bedford, Democratic, the only name listed.
• 13th Bristol, Precincts 3E, 3F, 4A and 4E, and all of Wards 5 and 6 (5A to 5F and 6A to 6F): Antonio F.D. Cabral of New Bedford, Democratic, the only name listed.

The two 9th Bristol candidates answered the same voter questions in our Q&A, and every South Coast House and Senate race is in our legislative races story.

The nine statewide questions

Questions 1 to 9 appear on every Massachusetts ballot. 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, the Secretary's Information for Voters guide says. For each question, here is what it is about, drawn from the Attorney General's official summary in the guide, and then what a yes vote would do, in the guide's words. On every question but the ninth, a no vote makes no change to current law.

• 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 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

The city's Election Commission lists 28 polling places for the 41 precincts, and many sites serve more than one precinct. Two South End precincts vote at new places this year after the Moose Home closed: Ward 5, Precinct C votes at St. Teresa of Calcutta School, 180 Orchard St., in the building behind the school, and Ward 6, Precinct F votes at New Life Southcoast Church, 1331 Cove Road.

Details on those two moves are in our polling place story. Here is every precinct with its polling place and House district:

Mail ballots today

A New Bedford voter still holding a mail ballot has until the polls close at 8 p.m. to get it to the city by hand. Under state law, a mail ballot delivered in person to the election office or left in a secured city drop box must be received before the hour the polls close. The city's Board of Election Commissioners is at City Hall, 133 William St., Room 114.

A ballot mailed on or before Election Day is still accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, under the same law, and a legible postmark is evidence of when it was mailed. That means the New Bedford numbers released tonight are unofficial and do not yet include mailed ballots that arrive by Friday's deadline, which can matter in a close race.

Voting today

The Secretary's guide points voters to VoteInMA.com to look up their polling place by address. The city's Board of Election Commissioners is at City Hall, 133 William St., Room 114, and answers questions at 508-979-1420. What to bring and your rights at the polls are in our Election Day guide.

Results for New Bedford and every South Coast community will be posted on the SC360 Election Center after the polls close at 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 towns like New Bedford, your ward and precinct to see your own races.

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

Notes

Every fact comes from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 candidate list, its Sept. 1 primary returns by precinct and its 2026 Information for Voters guide, the city Election Commission's polling locations page, the Board of Election Commissioners and the state law on returning mail ballots, all listed below. We read them Nov. 3, except the polling page, read Oct. 23. New Bedford does not post its printed ballot online, so the races and their order come from the state's list, and each precinct's House district from the state's primary returns. Names, parties and hometowns are as the state lists them. We counted the races, precincts and polling places ourselves and checked each date and weekday against a calendar. No results are reported before the polls close.

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 (8)

1. General Laws, Chapter 54, Section 93: Time for mailing or delivering ballotsBallots delivered in person to the election office or returned to a secured municipal drop box must be received before the polls close; a ballot mailed on or before the day of a biennial state election is accepted until 5 p.m. on the third day after it; a legible postmark is evidence of the time of mailing. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
2. Secretary of the Commonwealth: 2026 State Election Candidates (Internet Archive capture, Oct. 15, 2026)Every race, candidate, party or designation and hometown on the New Bedford ballot, in the list's order. The live page answered with a bot check Nov. 3 and was not read. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
3. Secretary of the Commonwealth: Sept. 1, 2026 state primary returns by precinctWhich New Bedford ward and precinct votes in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 13th Bristol House districts; all 41 precincts in the 9th Congressional, 2nd Bristol and Plymouth Senate and 1st Governor's Council districts. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
4. Secretary of the Commonwealth: 2026 Information for VotersQuestion titles, the Attorney General's summaries and the official yes and no statements for Questions 1 to 9; the Legislature's committee report on Question 2; poll hours 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; voters in line by 8 p.m. may vote; VoteInMA.com lookup. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
5. City of New Bedford Election Commission: Polling LocationsPolling place and address for each of the 41 precincts; Election Commission at 133 William St., Room 114, 508-979-1420. Read Oct. 23, 2026; the city site answered 403 to a request Nov. 3, 2026.
6. New Bedford Board of Election Commissioners, Chair Manuel DeBritoFive ballot types with two cards each; printed specimen ballots at City Hall, Room 114, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 26, 2026.
7. SC360: New Bedford polling place changes, Ward 5C and 6FThe two moved precincts and the Moose Home closing, from the city's Oct. 13 release. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
8. SC360: Oliver's name stays on Nov. 3 ballotThe Minogue campaign's Oct. 19 statement, the Sept. 4 withdrawal deadline and the one vote for a governor ticket. Read Nov. 3, 2026.

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