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Secretary of the Commonwealth

Vote for
1
Term
4 years
Candidates
2
Election
Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The secretary of the Commonwealth runs elections, keeps public records and registers corporations and securities.

CandidatesCompare by issue
Photo of Anne R. Brensley
Anne R. BrensleyCandidate photo via League of Women Voters VOTE411

Anne R. Brensley

Republican

Wayland

The gist

  • Proposes moving state primaries from September to June
  • Supports auditing voter rolls to remove ineligible voters
  • Proposes an election information app
  • Proposes penalties for repeated unsuccessful public records complaints
More about Anne
View sources (1)

  1. Proposes moving state primaries from September to June

    VOTE411 Voter Guide: 2026 Secretary of the Commonwealth

    Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters (VOTE411) · onyourballot.vote411.org

    “The easiest fix is to host the primaries in June rather than September.”

  2. Supports auditing voter rolls to remove ineligible voters

    VOTE411 Voter Guide: 2026 Secretary of the Commonwealth

    Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters (VOTE411) · onyourballot.vote411.org

    “removing voters we know should not be on the list because they are deceased, voted more than once from different addresses, or are not citizens.”

  3. Proposes an election information app

    VOTE411 Voter Guide: 2026 Secretary of the Commonwealth

    Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters (VOTE411) · onyourballot.vote411.org

    “We can create an election app.”

  4. Proposes penalties for repeated unsuccessful public records complaints

    VOTE411 Voter Guide: 2026 Secretary of the Commonwealth

    Candidate questionnaire · League of Women Voters (VOTE411) · onyourballot.vote411.org

    “there should be a penalty paid for filing an unsuccessful complaint after a certain amount of unsuccessful complaints are filed”

William Francis Galvin

DemocraticIncumbent

Boston

The gist

  • Supported Election Day registration and permanent vote by mail
  • Pledges to resist federal interference in 2028 election
  • Pledges an accurate, inclusive 2030 Census count
More about William
View sources (2)

  1. Supported Election Day registration and permanent vote by mail

    Meet Bill

    Campaign website · Committee to Re-elect Bill Galvin · billgalvin.com

    “Secretary Galvin has been a supporter of Election Day registration and has been a strong advocate for the passage of the Votes Act”

  2. Pledges to resist federal interference in 2028 election

    Bill Galvin for Secretary of State

    Campaign website · Committee to Re-elect Bill Galvin · billgalvin.com

    “it is my intention to expose and resist any such efforts wherever attempted.”

  3. Pledges an accurate, inclusive 2030 Census count

    Bill Galvin for Secretary of State

    Campaign website · Committee to Re-elect Bill Galvin · billgalvin.com

    “I wish to make the 2030 count accurate and inclusive.”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 1 issue covered in this race.