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Secretary of State of Massachusetts

William F. Galvin

IncumbentDINCUMBENT

Race
Secretary of State of Massachusetts
Election
2026-11-03
Opponent
Anne Brensley (R)
Research
Basic

Party linenone

No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.

Said vs. did0 statements · 0 votes

William Galvin is the incumbent Democratic Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, first elected in 1994 and seeking another term.[1]

On the ballotSecretary of State

2026-11-03

William F. Galvin Dincumbent
Anne Brensley Rchallenger

Advanced from the September 1, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed.

Biography

William Galvin is the incumbent Democratic Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, first elected in 1994 and seeking another term.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Galvin was born and raised in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. After graduating from Boston College he began his public service career in 1972 as an aide to the Massachusetts Governor's Council.[2]

He won a special election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1975 and represented the Allston-Brighton district, and he graduated from Suffolk University School of Law in 1976.[2]

Galvin was first elected Secretary of the Commonwealth in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.[1] A 2023 profile described him as having held the office since 1995, the longest tenure in its history.[2]

On the record

Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.

  • action2025-07-01 · Declined a July 2025 U.S. Department of Justice request for Massachusetts voters' full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts.[3]
  • legal2026-04-09 · Was the named defendant in United States v. Galvin, in which the Justice Department sued for the voter data; a federal judge dismissed the suit on April 9, 2026, ruling the department had not stated the factual basis the statute requires. The ACLU's case page lists an appeal in the First Circuit.[4][3]

Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.

Profile: /people/william-f-galvin

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Sources cited in this profile

  1. 1.The Green Papers: Massachusetts 2026 General Election · The Green Papers · 2026-10-19 Reference
  2. 2.Lifelong commitment to public service · Fifty Plus Advocate · 2023-06-01 News report
  3. 3.United States v. Galvin · ACLU of Massachusetts Reference
  4. 4.A federal judge dismisses another DOJ lawsuit seeking voter data, this time in Massachusetts · WCAX / Associated Press · 2026-04-10 News report