The projected on election night that Massachusetts voters rejected Question 8 and approved Question 1, a split result that keeps recreational cannabis legal and expands the state public records law. For readers watching mass ballot questions 2026 results, the immediate effect is different for each measure: one preserves the existing cannabis system, while the other would bring more of Beacon Hill under disclosure rules.
Question 8 would have repealed recreational cannabis after 10 years and reversed the decision voters made in a ballot question a decade ago. Supporters of the cannabis industry said the repeal would have affected an industry that employs tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts and has generated roughly $2 billion in tax revenue since legalization.
Question 1 on Beacon Hill
Late Tuesday night, the said Question 1 would pass with more than 80% of the vote as of 12:14 a.m. Wednesday morning. Diana DiZoglio, the state auditor and a supporter of Question 1, celebrated as voters overwhelmingly backed the measure: “It’s a huge, huge win for Massachusetts,” she said.
The measure would place the governor’s office and state Legislature under the same public records law that already applies to state agencies and city and town governments. Massachusetts is the only state where all three branches of government are exempt from having to share information about communications, reports and other public records.
Question 9 and the count
The had not projected the results of Question 9 as of 12:13 a.m., even though the Yes side was leading with 69% of the vote as 49% of ballots had been counted just after midnight. Question 9 is a referendum on gun control legislation the state passed two years ago, and a no vote would repeal it.
That law includes penalties related to guns that are 3-D printed or built from kits, bans modifications that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic ones, and strengthens licensing laws. Ruth Zakarin, chair of Yes on 9 for a Safe Massachusetts, said after the election-night results on Question 9: “This victory belongs to the people of Massachusetts, who through their votes said a resounding yes to protecting this legislation and keeping our communities safe from gun violence,”
The clearest practical change from the night’s ballot calls is straightforward. If the Question 1 projection holds, people seeking more information from the governor’s office and the Legislature would face fewer secrecy barriers than they do now, while the question itself still carves out private records, including constituents’ communications with lawmakers and lawmakers’ communications while they develop policy stances.
