This featured guest piece is an excerpt of our November 2026 newsletter.

Dear MCSW Community:

Happy November! The first Tuesday in November is Election Day in America. Polls are open 7am-8pm in our state. If you need any information on where or how to cast your ballot, visit the Secretary of State’s website for information on where your polling place is and more. Have questions about the candidates or ballot questions? Use the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts’ Vote411 tool, a free, nonpartisan source for all the information you’ll need to vote.

In Massachusetts this Tuesday, voters will answer 9 ballot questions and elect candidates for office that will represent them during the 195th General Legislative Session that begins January 2027. You read that right, the 195th time elected representatives will come to Beacon Hill to advocate policy and law for their constituents across our Commonwealth.

When that happens, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women will fine tune and focus its advocacy by supporting common sense legislation that puts women and girls first. These broader areas of concern include women’s healthcare and family care, education and access, transportation and housing, financial and personal health.

Take the I Am Bill, for example. It advocates for a different kind of school supply: free pads and tampons for girls. Let’s finally hit the Easy Button in the 195th and pass this crucial legislation, together.

You’ll be hearing more from MCSW about the bills we’ll be supporting in this new legislative session slated to start in January. We’ll need your voice to get them over the finish line so please, cast your ballot. Contact your legislators. Your vote says you care. Your email says you matter. Your call says listen to me.

In Solidarity,
Allison Goldberg
MCSW State Commissioner

Allison Goldberg was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker in Fall 2018 and reappointed in 2022. She serves as the Chairwoman to the MCSW’s Legislative and Public Policy Committee. A food and beverage entrepreneur and business owner, Commissioner Goldberg is passionate about educating women and girls about money: understanding finances, savings, and building a long-term path to self-reliance and independence. Commissioner Goldberg lives in Marblehead with her husband and two children.