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Voter guideMethodology

How we built the voter guide

Where every name, quote and date comes from, how the issue statements were written and tested, and how the matcher scores.

By South Coast 360 staffLast checked

Sources

Candidate names and parties come from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 state election candidate list. Which districts each ward and precinct votes in comes from the state's 2026 primary returns, which report every district by ward and precinct. Ballot question text comes from the state's Information for Voters guide. Early voting places and hours come from each town clerk's posted notice, as reported in our stories linked from each town.

The state's guide uses dashes in a few places. We set those as commas. No words were changed.

Candidate positions

A candidate is matched on an issue only when we found their own words: their campaign website, a statement from their office or campaign, a vote or bill record, or a direct quote in a news report of something they said. Each position on the results screen shows the quote, where it came from, and a link. We read every source on Oct. 18, 2026. When we found nothing, the candidate is shown as "not on record" for that issue. We do not fill gaps with our own summary of what a candidate probably thinks.

Candidates who want a position added or corrected can send a link to their own public statement through our corrections page. We add it under the same rules for every candidate.

How the statements were written and tested

Each issue is a pair of statements written to be parallel in length, tone and detail, with no claim stated as fact inside either one. Where readers need background, it sits above the pair, in plain terms, and is the same for both sides. The order of the two statements is shuffled each time the page loads.

Before publishing, each pair was checked blind, with no candidate names or parties and in random order, for wording that makes one side sound more reasonable than the other. Pairs that failed were rewritten and checked again. A pair on abolishing or keeping ICE never passed after many rewrites, so we left it out. Our editors keep the record of every round.

An issue stays in the matcher only when both major-party nominees in the race are on record. Where one of them had no public statement we could find, the issue was left out for every candidate. Independent and third-party platforms cover fewer issues, so those candidates show "not on record" more often, and their scores rest on fewer issues.

Scoring

Each answer you give carries a weight: three for "matters a lot," two for "matters," one for "matters a little." A candidate's score is the total weight of the issues where you and they gave the same answer, divided by the total weight of the issues you answered and they are on record for. "Neither" counts as an answer and matches a candidate whose record is neither statement or both. Skipped issues do not count. Scores built on fewer than three issues are labeled thin and listed after the others. The match is a starting point for reading what candidates said, not a recommendation.

Privacy

The matcher runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are never sent anywhere, stored, or counted, and the page has no ads.

Every position we used

U.S. Senate

Health coverage

Statement one: Create a federal public health insurance program.
Statement two: Keep private health insurance as the main system.

  • Edward J. Markey: Statement one. "Expanding pathways to universal healthcare by allowing states to build systems with federal support and advancing a national Medicare for All program so that everyone can access comprehensive, affordable care regardless of income, employment, or zipcode." Markey campaign site, Affordable Care for All
  • John Deaton: Statement two. "I will fight to break up these vertically integrated insurers and break up the PBM monopoly ... All of this can be done without growing Washington's bureaucracy or raising taxes." Deaton campaign site, Issues
  • Shiva Ayyadurai: not on record in the sources we checked.
  • Joe Tache: Statement one. "From capping rent at 10% of income to guaranteeing free healthcare and creating millions of union jobs, our vision is bold because the crisis demands it." Tache campaign site, home page

Energy and climate

Statement one: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy over time.
Statement two: Keep fossil fuels as part of the energy mix along with renewable energy.

  • Edward J. Markey: Statement one. "Holding polluters accountable and ending fossil fuel subsidies by closing tax loopholes and making fossil fuel companies pay their fair share, so that corporations, not taxpayers, pay for climate damage while federal policy supports a transition to clean energy." Markey campaign site, Building a Resilient Future
  • John Deaton: Statement two. "I will oppose extreme policies like the Green New Deal ... That means an all-of-the-above energy transition, not a mandate that picks winners and losers by government fiat." Deaton campaign site, Issues
  • Shiva Ayyadurai: not on record in the sources we checked.
  • Joe Tache: not on record in the sources we checked.

Abortion law

Statement one: Have a federal law that makes abortion legal nationwide.
Statement two: Allow each state to set its own abortion laws.

  • Edward J. Markey: Statement one. "Protecting reproductive freedom and access to care by guaranteeing the right to contraception and safeguarding abortion rights nationwide so people can make their own health care decisions." Markey campaign site, Affordable Care for All
  • John Deaton: Statement one. "Since the fall of Roe in 2022, I've consistently supported codifying the protections of Roe into federal law, and I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs." Deaton campaign site, Issues
  • Shiva Ayyadurai: not on record in the sources we checked.
  • Joe Tache: not on record in the sources we checked.

Term limits

Term limits for Congress would take an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Statement one: Set term limits for members of Congress.
Statement two: Do not set term limits for members of Congress.

Voter ID

Statement one: Require voters to show ID in federal elections.
Statement two: Do not require voters to show ID in federal elections.

Social Security

Statement one: Raise the full retirement age.
Statement two: Keep the full retirement age where it is.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Police and federal immigration agents

A 2026 state law, the PROTECT Act, limits civil immigration arrests at courthouses, schools and hospitals.

Statement one: Limit how state and local police work with federal immigration agents.
Statement two: Allow state and local police to work with federal immigration agents.

MBTA Communities housing law

The law requires cities and towns served by the MBTA to zone at least one district where multifamily housing is allowed.

Statement one: Keep enforcing the MBTA Communities law.
Statement two: Stop enforcing the MBTA Communities law.

Where new energy comes from

Statement one: Get most new energy supply from wind, solar and battery storage.
Statement two: Get most new energy supply from natural gas and nuclear power.

State climate law

State law requires Massachusetts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Statement one: Keep the net zero by 2050 requirement.
Statement two: Remove the net zero by 2050 requirement.

Federal scholarship tax credit

A 2025 federal law created a tax credit for donations to scholarship groups. It applies only in states that opt in.

Statement one: Join the federal scholarship tax credit program.
Statement two: Do not join the federal scholarship tax credit program.

The 2026 abortion law

In August 2026 the state removed the conditions that had applied to abortions at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The law now leaves that decision to the physician's professional judgment.

Statement one: Support the August 2026 abortion law.
Statement two: Oppose the August 2026 abortion law.