Swansea voters will decide 10 ballot questions Nov. 3, including a school building override
Question 10 asks voters to exempt from Proposition 2 1/2 the debt for a school building of about 114,707 square feet for 510 students in grades 6 through 8.
SWANSEA Swansea voters will decide 10 ballot questions in the Nov. 3 state election: eight proposed laws, a referendum on a 2024 firearms law and a local Proposition 2 1/2 override that would pay for a new school building. Voting takes place at Joseph Case High School, 70 School St., from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Question 1 would make most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, with exemptions for documents related to the development of public policy and for certain communications between legislators and their constituents. A yes vote would enact the change, while a no vote would leave the current law unchanged.
Question 2 would permit employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services to engage in collective bargaining with their employer. It would also require the committee, after executing a collective bargaining agreement, to request the appropriation needed to fund it from the governor.
Question 3 would eliminate political party primaries for state elections in favor of a single, all-party primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot. The two candidates receiving the most votes would advance to the general election. The measure would also require candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run jointly on the ballot in the primary.
Question 4 would allow eligible individuals to register to vote or update their voter registration address on Election Day at their polling place, presenting proof of residency and signing a written oath. Those without proof of residency could cast a provisional ballot, counted if the required information is provided within set deadlines. The proposed law would take effect Jan. 1, 2028.
Question 5 would change the limit on state revenue collection by tying it to the prior year's collections plus the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years. Revenue above the limit would be refunded to taxpayers the following year. The provisions would take effect July 1, 2027.
Question 6 would establish a Nature for All Fund that would receive 50 percent of state taxes collected from the sale and use of sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses in its first year, and 100 percent of those taxes after July 1, 2028, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. The fund would pay for natural resource conservation, including the protection of drinking water, streams, rivers, lakes, coasts, farms and forests.
Question 7 would allow single-family homes to be built in residentially zoned areas on lots of at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of street frontage and access to public sewer and water service. Cities and towns could still reasonably regulate details such as height, distance from neighboring buildings, open space, parking and short-term rentals.
Question 8 would repeal the laws that legalized, regulated and taxed retail sales of recreational marijuana for adults in Massachusetts. Possession of one ounce or less would remain legal for people 21 and older, with a $100 civil penalty and forfeiture for amounts between one and two ounces. The Cannabis Control Commission would remain but would regulate only the medical marijuana market. The proposal would take effect Jan. 1, 2028.
Question 9 is a referendum on a 2024 state law that tightened firearms regulations. The law added school administrators and licensed health care providers to the list of people who can ask a court to issue an extreme risk protection order, imposed penalties for untraceable ghost guns and changed firearms licensing rules. A yes vote would keep the law in place; a no vote would repeal it.
Question 10, the only local question, asks whether Swansea may exempt from Proposition 2 1/2 the amounts needed to pay bonds for a new school building on the Joseph Case High School site at 70 School St. The building would be about 114,707 square feet and serve 510 students in grades 6 through 8.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact comes from the town's own posted record, listed below, read fresh Oct. 21, 2026 by Verifier A. Every name, number, date and quote was checked against that record. Not heard: no one was contacted.
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 (1)
- Swansea Board of Selectmen amended meeting agenda for Oct. 20, 2026, with the 2026 State Election warrant attached (PDF)Swansea Board of Selectmen agendas and minutes. Read fresh Oct. 21, 2026, by Verifier A (sha256 matched the engine copy); first read Oct. 20, 2026, 5:04 p.m.