MA Ballot Questions

The Massachusetts ballot results are in! Here is all you need to know about the outcome of questions 1-5. 

by Noura Zahry 

Question 1 on the Massachusetts ballot would allow audits of the state legislature by the elected state auditor. Massachusetts currently allows the state auditor to audit state entities and contractors, however, denies them from auditing the state legislature. Currently, it is audited by a private company which many have become skeptical of. Massachusetts was one of only four states that doesn’t allow the legislature to be audited by the public state auditor. This has gained questioning and has made people want to know what the Massachusetts legislature really includes. The current state auditor, Diana DiZoglio, has fought hard to pass question 1 which ended in her favor. Question 1 passed with 71.5% of voters voting yes and 28.5% voting no. 

The second question on this year's ballot would repeal the requirement to pass a competency exam, MCAS, to graduate high school. Many believe that these tests don’t have any benefit to students and add more stress than necessary. On the other hand, people believe that without this test as a graduation requirement they would be failing the children by decreasing their learning standards. This question has created a lot of discussion about the importance of the graduation requirement and eventually was passed with 59% of voters voting yes and 41% voting no. 

Question 3 is in regards to allowing ride-share drivers (Uber, Lift, etc.) to form labor unions. This law would allow these drivers to bargain with Transportation Network Companies for fair wages, labor rights, etc. 53.8% of voters voted for this and 46.2% voted against it. 

Question 4 was a very controversial question that resulted in 57.1% of people voting no and 42.9% voting yes. If voted in favor of this law, Massachusetts would legalize people aged 21 or older to grow, process, and use, medically and recreationally, certain psychedelic substances including magic mushrooms and shrooms. Since this question wasn’t passed, psychedelics will still be illegal without a prescription. 

Lastly, question 5 was about raising the minimum wage for tipped workers. This law would allow the state to gradually increase the states minimum wage for tipped workers to eventually reach $15 by 2029. This question was not passed with 64.4% of voters voting against this law and 35.6% voting yes. This was the second biggest difference in yes/no percentages this election.

Overall, this year's election was a very close one with many controversial questions. I hope this article finds you well. Thank you for reading!