After writing the post about uncontested local elections, I got curious: is Massachusetts really the only state where you can't easily find out who holds your local elected offices? So I checked our neighbors.
Turns out, Connecticut ‘sSecretary of State runs a searchable elected officials directory → pick a town, see every elected official, from town clerk to registrar of voters. They've also got a full historical elections database with past results. Both are run by the state and open to anyone. Rhode Island has something similar through its Secretary of State: a government directory covering federal, state, and local officials, plus a broader open-government platform that tracks public meetings, agendas, and minutes.
New Hampshire doesn't have a single state-run version, but a nonprofit called Citizens Count built a searchable tool, and NHPR — the public radio station — built an election results database going back to 1970, searchable by town, county, and office. Vermont has an election archive for federal, state, and county races, though it's more of a results database than a "who holds what right now" directory.
I'll be honest, I half expected Massachusetts to have something similar tucked away on some government website I hadn't found yet. Even an Excel spreadsheet somewhere! The fact that a campaign consultant had to start building one from scratch with a university, and, as far as I can tell, it still hasn't launched (MASSterList: Beacon Hill isn't the only place with a lack of competition) is a pretty big contrast with what the neighboring states already have in place. If Connecticut can manage it, you'd think Massachusetts could too.
It'd be interesting to see if these states have a database of who is running for these positions in 2026. I’ll check it out once the registration deadline passes.
—Emma