Governor Maura Healey won a second term, Senator Ed Markey won a third, and Massachusetts voters passed six of the nine statewide ballot questions on Chelsea’s three-page ballot, according to Associated Press calls reported overnight by the Boston Globe, Boston 25 News and Boston.com. Two questions, the state revenue cap and the small-lot single-family housing law, were still too close to call at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Chelsea’s own totals were not yet public Wednesday morning. The city clerk’s election page was not reachable, and the city’s Facebook page had posted nothing beyond its Election Day reminders. This story will be updated with the Chelsea precinct and city results when the clerk posts them. The clerk’s office number is 617-466-4050.
The statewide races
The AP projected Healey’s reelection at 8:05 p.m., minutes after the polls closed, and Republican Michael Minogue conceded shortly before 10 p.m., the Globe reported. With about 81 percent of the expected vote counted early Wednesday, NBC News showed Healey at 62.7 percent, Minogue at 33.9 percent and independent Andrea James at 3.4 percent. The AP projected Markey over Republican John Deaton at 8:10 p.m., per Boston 25. Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Secretary of State William Galvin, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Auditor Diana DiZoglio all faced Republican challengers on the Chelsea ballot; none of the outlets we read had reported calls or totals in those races as of 7 a.m.
Before Election Day, 821,244 of the 1,063,369 mail ballots sent statewide had been returned, and 347,346 people had voted early in person, according to Boston 25.
The nine questions
Boston.com’s running tally and the Globe’s live file gave the following as of about 6 a.m. Wednesday. Percentages are partial counts and will move.
- Question 1, public records. Passed. The law extends the public records law to the Legislature and the governor’s office. The AP called it at 11:41 p.m.; the yes side was at about 86 percent.
- Question 2, public defender bargaining. Passed. Employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services may unionize and bargain. Called at 12:32 a.m.; yes was above 64 percent.
- Question 3, all-party primaries. Failed. It would have replaced party primaries with one primary open to all candidates, the top two advancing. Called at 1:40 a.m.; no led 61 percent to 39 percent with about 80 percent counted.
- Question 4, Election Day registration. Passed. Eligible residents may register or update an address at the polls on Election Day. Called at 1:52 a.m.; yes was near 58 percent.
- Question 5, state revenue cap. Not called. It would cap annual state revenue at the prior year’s amount plus average wage growth and refund any excess. No led 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent with about 80 percent counted.
- Question 6, Nature for All Fund. Passed. Sales tax on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses would fund conservation. Called at 1:39 a.m.; yes was near 62 percent.
- Question 7, single-family homes on small lots. Not called. It would allow a single-family home on any residential lot of at least 5,000 square feet with 50 feet of frontage and public water and sewer. Yes led by 195 votes with about 80 percent counted.
- Question 8, marijuana retail repeal. Failed. It would have repealed the laws that allow retail sale of adult-use marijuana. Called at 12:04 a.m.; no was near 76 percent.
- Question 9, the 2024 gun law. Passed. A yes vote keeps the 2024 firearms law, including its ghost gun penalties and expanded red flag orders. Called at 12:24 a.m.; yes was near 70 percent.
What Chelsea decided locally
Every local office on the Chelsea ballot was uncontested. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Governor’s Councillor Terrence Kennedy, State Senator Sal DiDomenico, State Representative Judith Garcia of Chelsea, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden and Register of Probate Stephanie Everett each ran alone for reelection. The one contested local line was a Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School Committee vacancy for the Malden seat, between James Bancroft Perry and Sean M. Salazar, which voters across the district’s member cities, Chelsea included, decided.
How Chelsea voted on the governor’s race and the nine questions, and how many of the city’s registered voters turned out, will be the local story once the clerk’s unofficial tally is posted. The city’s sample ballot and voting rules are in our voting guide.