One week out: the ballot questions Boston's council went on record about

Boston voters will face nine statewide ballot questions on Tuesday, Nov. 3, on a ballot that runs three double-sided pages. The City Council took formal positions on only a few of them, and our records show how each councilor voted.

WBUR has a guide to all nine. In brief, according to CommonWealth Beacon: Question 1 would extend the public records law to the governor and Legislature; 2 would let public defender staff unionize; 3 would replace party primaries with an all-party primary; 4 would allow Election Day voter registration; 5 would change the formula for the state's tax cap; 6 would steer existing sales tax revenue into a conservation fund; 7 would reduce minimum lot sizes for single-family homes in many communities; 8 would repeal legal recreational marijuana; and 9 asks whether to keep the state's 2024 gun law.

Council resolutions do not change the law or the ballot. They put the city's legislative body on record.

Question 4: Election Day registration

The council adopted a resolution supporting Question 4 on Oct. 7 by a 12-0 vote, with Council President Liz Breadon absent (docket 1805). City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune (at-large), who chairs the Census, Redistricting, and Elections Committee, filed it, and every other councilor signed on as a sponsor. It went through a committee hearing first, which we covered in Boston election officials prepare for Nov. 3.

When the resolution was introduced Sept. 23, Breadon noted that more than 20 states and Washington, D.C., already allow same-day registration, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut (watch at 2:35:40). Massachusetts requires voters to register at least 10 days before an election.

Question 6: Conservation fund

A resolution supporting Question 6 passed 13-0 on Sept. 30 (docket 1856). City Councilor Sharon Durkan said the measure would create a fund of up to $100 million a year from existing sales tax on outdoor recreation equipment to protect and maintain parks (watch at 1:42:00). City Councilor Brian Worrell said a dedicated source for green space could free more of the city's Community Preservation Act money for affordable housing (watch at 1:44:06).

Rent stabilization: a vote on a question that is gone

On Jan. 28 the council adopted a resolution urging support for the 2026 rent stabilization ballot question, 9-3 (docket 0224), filed by City Councilor Henry Santana (at-large):

• Yes (9): Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Louijeune, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber and Worrell.
• No (3): FitzGerald, Flynn and Murphy.
• Not present (1): Durkan.

The question will not appear. The Supreme Judicial Court removed it on June 23, ruling that its text improperly touched on religion by exempting religious institutions, CommonWealth Beacon reported.

The other questions

We found no council resolutions this year on Questions 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 or 9.

Question 8 could matter locally. At an April 30 budget hearing, the city's licensing office reported 39 cannabis establishments open and operating in Boston, most of them retail-only (watch at 30:43). The Dorchester Reporter has reported on concerns from people in the local cannabis business.

Related: the Elections Department

In August, a resolution by City Councilor Ed Flynn backing a Secretary of State investigation into incorrect ballots handed out during early voting, and continued state receivership of the Elections Department through 2028, failed 2-7. Flynn and Murphy voted yes, Culpepper voted present, and three councilors were absent (docket 1616).

What's next

In-person early voting runs through Friday, Oct. 30, according to the city's early voting page; see our story on this week's early voting sites. The council will hold no meetings or hearings on Election Day (our story).