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Reported by us | Taunton

Taunton votes in three state House districts Nov. 3, with Field and Quintal meeting again in the 3rd Bristol

Field won the 3rd Bristol seat by 15 votes over Quintal in a June 2025 special election. Two pairs of Taunton precincts share a polling place but vote in different districts.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Oct. 31, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 31, 2026, 1:06 a.m. ET

TAUNTON Taunton voters will pick a state representative in one of three House districts on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and which race is on a voter's ballot depends on the ward and precinct, according to the city's official sample ballots. In the 3rd Bristol District, which covers 10 of the city's 18 precincts, Rep. Lisa M. Field, a Democrat, faces Republican Lawrence Joseph Quintal, both of Taunton, in a rematch of the June 2025 special election that Field won by 15 votes.

Voters in Ward 1 Precinct A1, Ward 4 Precinct B1 and Ward 6 are in the 5th Bristol District, where Rep. Justin E. Thurber, a Republican, faces Democrat Jamison D. Souza, both of Somerset. In Ward 3, and in Ward 4 Precincts A and B, Rep. Norman J. Orrall, a Republican from Lakeville, is the only candidate printed on the ballot for the 12th Bristol District.

Which district you are in

The city prints a separate ballot style for each House district, and two pairs of precincts share a polling place but not a district. Ward 1 Precincts A and A1 both vote at the former temporary City Hall, 141 Oak St., where Precinct A is in the 3rd Bristol and A1 is in the 5th. Ward 4 Precincts B and B1 both vote at East Taunton Elementary School, 58R Stevens St., where Precinct B is in the 12th Bristol and B1 is in the 5th, as the city's list of polling places and the state warrant show.

3rd Bristol: Field and Quintal

Field won the seat in a special election on June 10, 2025, after the death of Rep. Carol Doherty, as CommonWealth Beacon has reported. The state's certified results show Field with 2,575 votes to Quintal's 2,560. Quintal carried the Taunton part of the district, 1,598 to 1,542, and Field carried the Easton part, 1,033 to 962.

In the Sept. 1 primaries, Field beat Edward Walsh Jr. for the Democratic nomination, 3,078 votes to 1,050, and Quintal had no opponent for the Republican nomination, drawing 1,554 votes, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's results.

Field's campaign site says she supports expanding the housing supply and developing new energy sources such as offshore wind to steady costs, reforming the local aid formula so Taunton and Easton get their fair share, and revisiting the state's school funding formula. It says she supported a "no-new-taxes, balanced, bi-partisan budget" and backed the 2024 ballot question giving the state auditor authority to audit the Legislature. The site also lists her work with manufactured home residents on rising property insurance costs and says she led the fight to save Morton Hospital when its corporate owner went bankrupt. "I know what families are up against because I've been there," the site says. At the State House she sits on four joint committees, including the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the Aging and Independence Committee, according to the Legislature's member records.

Quintal's campaign site describes him as a former two-term Taunton city councilor who co-owns Silva Funeral Home in Taunton with his wife. It lists his goals as lowering utility bills and other fees, holding the line on taxes and increasing state aid to cities and towns, and says he signed the No New Taxes pledge and supports cutting the income tax to 4% and the sales tax to 5%. The site says he would support the audit of the Legislature, work to end the Legislature's exemption from the open meeting and public records laws, and hold weekly office hours himself. "The people of Easton and Taunton need a State Representative who will protect their wallets," Quintal said in an April 2025 campaign release posted on the site.

Through Sept. 30, Field's committee reported $54,805 raised this year, $34,455 spent and $21,103 on hand, and Quintal's committee reported $47,800 raised, $27,416 spent and $20,745 on hand, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

5th Bristol: Thurber and Souza

Thurber's campaign site describes him as a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and the ranking minority member of the Legislature's joint committees on veterans and federal affairs and on community development and small businesses. It lists auditing the Legislature, affordability, schools, veterans, small business and constitutional rights among his priorities, and says he started a district food pantry and connects residents with utility, medical and housing aid.

Souza's campaign site describes him as a Somerset selectman who spent eight years on the town's Planning Board and four on its School Committee and who works in real estate. It lists more attainable housing for first-time buyers, seniors and working families, fairer property tax and state aid policies, updated school funding formulas and a tax system that asks large corporations to pay their fair share.

The two candidates' campaign finance totals are in SC360's look at the money in the contested South Coast legislative races.

12th Bristol: Orrall unopposed

Orrall was first elected in 2018, when he won 52.1% of the vote against Democrat Allin John Frawley, and he has had no opponent in a general election since, the state's election results show. His committee reported $700 raised this year, $2,413 spent and $17,191 on hand through Sept. 30, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The Legislature's member records list him as the ranking minority member of the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, and as a member of the House Committee on Ethics and of the joint committees on transportation and on municipalities and regional government.

Voting and the count

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, under the city's warrant. In-person absentee voting at City Hall, 15 Summer St., ends at noon Monday, Nov. 2, and mail ballots left in the city's drop box must be in by 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Elections Department's calendar says. Polling places for every precinct are in SC360's guide to where to vote.

The Elections Department says unofficial results will take longer to release on election night, because the ballot has two cards, it expects higher turnout and workers must add blanks by hand for any card a voter did not return. The first unofficial results cover ballots counted before and on Election Day and leave out hand-counted ballots, write-in votes and most provisional ballots. Mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, are counted at a post-election tabulation Thursday, Nov. 12, at 8:30 a.m. in City Council Chambers. As of Oct. 30, the department said, it had mailed more than 7,000 ballots and received more than 5,000 back. The election must be certified by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Questions about a ballot or a polling place go to the Elections Department at 508-821-1044.

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

Notes

Every fact comes from the City of Taunton's official sample ballots, state warrant, list of polling places and Elections Department notices; the Legislature's district descriptions and member records; the Secretary of the Commonwealth's certified election results; the Office of Campaign and Political Finance; and each candidate's own campaign site, all listed below. We read them on Oct. 31, 2026. Positions are the candidates' own words or close summaries of them, attributed to their sites, and dollar figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. One fact, that the 2025 special election followed Rep. Carol Doherty's death, is credited to CommonWealth Beacon, and we 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 (15)

  1. City of Taunton: Sample Ballots 11.3.26 General Election (ballot styles 164, 172 and 193)Representative in General Court for the 3rd, 5th and 12th Bristol districts; candidates, parties, hometowns and incumbency as printed. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  2. City of Taunton: Elections DepartmentOffice at City Hall, 15 Summer St.; phone 508-821-1044. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  3. City of Taunton: Fully Executed November 3, 2026 State WarrantPolling places by precinct, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  4. City of Taunton: List of Polling Locations, updated March 26, 2025All 18 precincts with addresses. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  5. City of Taunton Elections Department: November 3rd State Election Calendar of EventsIn-person absentee by noon Nov. 2; drop box by 8 p.m. Nov. 3; mail deadlines. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  6. City of Taunton Elections Department: Election Day Certification Process and Unofficial Results, November 3, 2026Two-card ballot, what unofficial results leave out, Nov. 12 tabulation, Nov. 18 certification, ballots mailed and returned as of Oct. 30. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  7. Massachusetts Legislature: district descriptions of the 3rd Bristol (Rep. Lisa Field), 5th Bristol (Rep. Justin Thurber, J_T2) and 12th Bristol (Rep. Norman J. Orrall, NJO1)Towns, wards and precincts in each district; committee assignments from the Legislature's member records. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  8. Secretary of the Commonwealth, election statistics: 2025 3rd Bristol special election, 2026 3rd Bristol primaries, and Norman J. Orrall's 12th Bristol resultsCertified results by municipality. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  9. Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance: 2026 legislative candidates, year-to-date receipts, expenditures and cash on hand, and the Field, Quintal and Orrall committees' September bank reportsTotals Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026; reports filed Oct. 1 to Oct. 5. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  10. Re-Elect State Representative Lisa Field (Field Committee): Priorities and Meet Lisa pagesRead Oct. 31, 2026.
  11. Larry Quintal for State Representative: Meet Larry, Issues and News, including the April 15, 2025 releaseRead Oct. 31, 2026.
  12. Re-Elect Rep. Justin Thurber (Citizens for Justin Thurber): home page and prioritiesRead Oct. 31, 2026.
  13. Elect Jamison Souza: About and Platform pagesRead Oct. 31, 2026.
  14. CommonWealth Beacon: Election 2026: Races to WatchField succeeded Rep. Carol Doherty, who died in 2025. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  15. SC360: Where to vote Nov. 3, polling places in Taunton, Fall River and five townsTaunton polling places. Read Oct. 31, 2026.

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