Mass. electorate to vote on five ballot questions — Here’s what you should know
While the presidential race looms large in many voters’ awareness, Massachusetts voters heading to the polls next Tuesday will have the opportunity to weigh in on five ballot questions that could enact new laws in the Bay State.
Ballot referenda allow activists to enact law without a vote of the Legislature by taking a question directly to voters. Groups seeking to place questions on the ballot had to secure 74,574 signatures from registered voters — 3% of the number of ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election — under Massachusetts law.
This year the referenda appearing on Massachusetts ballots are:
• Question 1: Authorizing the state auditor to audit the state legislature and remove some existing regulations regarding the auditing process.
• Question 2: Eliminate the requirement that students must pass the standards-based (MCAS) exam to graduate high school.
• Question 3: Provide for unionization and collective bargaining for transportation network drivers
• Question 4: Allow persons 21 years of age or older to grow, possess, and use natural psychedelic substances, as well as establish a commission to regulate the licensing of psychedelic substances and services
• Question 5: Increase the minimum wage for tipped employees to meet the state’s standard minimum wage.
With early voting and mail-in balloting already underway, some voters have reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of ballot questions this year, said state Sen. Liz Miranda.
“The ballots are two pages and double-sided,” she noted. “There’s a lot of information to consider.”
Question 1
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio raised funds to collect the signatures to place Question 1 on the ballot. If passed, the referendum would give her office the authority to conduct audits of the state House and Senate — a move that could shed light on the secretive processes under which legislative leadership take votes in committees, make committee assignments and engage in debate over issues. While local government is subject to so-called sunshine laws that mandate that such processes be made public, the state Legislature is currently exempt from such laws.
“The state Legislature is one of the least transparent government bodies in the country,” said Hyde Park activist Vanessa Snow. “For the last several years, they’ve passed less legislation than most other states. It’s the only government body that doesn’t get audited.”
Legislative leaders have argued the DiZoglio’s measure would violate the separation of powers outlined in the state constitution which mandates that “… the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers.”
Question 2
The Massachusetts Teachers Association is the driving force behind the ballot measure that would end the use of the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement. While the Education Reform Act of 1993 mandated a Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System for students, in practice the state has relied solely on the MCAS exam as an assessment tool. Should question 2 pass, students would still take the exam, but failure to pass the 10th grade MCAS test would no longer preclude students from graduating.
MTA President Max Page says the exam has forced schools to place too much emphasis on “teaching to the test” — narrowing curriculums and course offerings to ensure that students pass the exam.
“Question 2 would redirect us back toward more authentic learning, which the test gets in the way of,” he said. “We have the highest state standards in the country. They apply to every subject. Those standards apply to every district.”
Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said that even though the question would not do away with the test, it will nevertheless weaken it.
“High school students will not take it seriously going forward, so it will not be a useful assessment anymore,” he said during an October forum at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as reported in the Crimson. “You’ll just have a local assessment and understanding of how students are doing. And I’m saying that’s not enough.”
Question 3
Currently, rideshare drivers who work for companies such as Uber and Lyft are not classified as employees, and therefore, under state law they have no right to unionize. The ballot measure would allow rideshare drivers to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. Sen. Miranda said her mother’s membership in a union was key to her family’s security.
“I’m a union daughter,” she said. “The protections my mother had on her job helped her take care of her whole family.”
Currently, rideshare drivers don’t have the leverage to negotiate wages and work rules with the companies for which they work.
“People don’t have the power to push back on the companies that are using algorithms to profit off of their labor,” said Chelsea City Councilor Roberto Jiminez, who has endorsed Question 3. “They incur all the costs for being on the job without being paid for being on the job.
Arguing against Question 3, the conservative group Mass Fiscal Alliance says that unionizing the workers would raise prices for all riders.
“This law gives politicians the right to set rules with no accountability and creates a new radical labor category that is inconsistent with federal labor law,” the group argues.
Question 4
Ballot Question 4 would allow Massachusetts residents to use, possess and grow certain psychedelic substances. As use of psychedelics for treating post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression has expanded in recent years, many have sought to overturn decades-old laws prohibiting their use. Under the measure, psychedelics would be made available in approved therapeutic settings under the supervision of trained and licensed facilitators.
Opponents of the measure have argued that psychedelic substances are dangerous and can trigger episodes in people with preconditions such as schizophrenia. They argue that while requiring licensing, the law does not require medical professionals to administer psychedelics.
Question 5
Currently, restaurants in Massachusetts are required to pay tipped workers a base rate of $6.75 an hour, less than half the state’s $15 an hour minimum wage, as tipped workers are expected to earn more through tips than through their wages. Question 5 would raise pay for tipped workers to the minimum wage over a five-year period.
Proponents argue the increase would make wages fairer.
“Many Massachusetts small businesses are already paying the full minimum wage plus tips,” argues Estefania Galvis, a representative of the One Fair Wage campaign. Big restaurant corporations should do the same. This would reduce employee turnover and improve service quality.”
Opponents say state law already requires restaurants to cover the difference between a tipped worker’s wages and the minimum wage if their tips fall short.
“Tipped employees have made it abundantly clear the way they earn money does not need to be changed,” argues restaurant owner Doug Bacon. “State and Federal law guarantee them the $15 hourly minimum wage with many earning over $40 an hour and 90% reporting at least $20 an hour.
