Although only two ballot questions appear in the 2020 Massachusetts Information for Voters guide to the November 3 State Election, there are indeed four questions.
With large advertising budgets, you’re likely hearing a lot about questions 1 and 2 on radio and TV. Questions Three and Four will appear on local ballots, and are described in order below.
QUESTION 1: Right to Repair
Massachusetts Question 1, the “Right to Repair Law” Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative is on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
- A “yes” vote supports requiring manufacturers that sell vehicles with telematics systems in Massachusetts to equip them with a standardized open data platform beginning with model year 2022 that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application.
- A “no” vote opposes requiring vehicles beginning with model year 2022 to be equipped with a standardized open data platform that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access to retrieve mechanical data and run diagnostics through a mobile-based application, thereby maintaining that vehicle owners and independent repair facilities may access mechanical and diagnostic data through a personal computer.
Additional Information on Question 1
YES: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/24/metro/should-voters-adopt-state-ballot-question-updating-states-right-repair-law/ or https://massrighttorepair.org
NO: https://safeandsecuredata.org or https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/08/massachusetts-to-vote-on-mandatory-open- access-for-connected-cars/
QUESTION 2: Ranked Choice Voting
Massachusetts Question 2, the Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative is on the ballot in Massachusetts as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
- A “yes” vote supports enacting ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional and senate seats, and certain county offices beginning in 2022.
- A “no” vote opposes changing the existing plurality voting system to ranked-choice voting for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional and senate seats, and county offices.
Learn More ~ Additional Information on Question 2
NO: https://www.massfiscal.org/ranked-choice-voting-ma or https://www.facebook.com/massfiscal
Another resource on Questions 1 and 2 is the red booklet “Information for Voters” from the Secretary of State that was mailed in September to all Town residential addresses, voters residing in group quarters and to convenient public locations. It provides summaries of the question but also the full text of the proposed legislation. Also, read the information on what a “Yes” or “No” vote will mean.
- Ballotopedia – https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Question_2,_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2020)
- Ash Center at Harvard – https://medium.com/election-issues-spotlight/ranked-choice-voting-gains-momentum-823bb3141873
- Edward Kennedy Institute for the US Senate –https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/citizen/FMfcgxwJXxxhDKTMJpjBwJzxKGTWmRJL
The Two Non-binding Ballot Questions
Television and radio ads have provided an abundance of information and opinions about Questions 1 and 2 on the November ballot.
A pair of additional questions are on the ballot through an established petition process providing voters with the potential to establish new laws. Through similar petition procedures laws can be repealed, the state constitution amended, or the ballot used as a vehicle to provide a directive to the local state representative or senator.
Bedford voters will find two additional ballot questions on their ballot, examples of the questions that provide directives.
Question 3 Shall the representative for this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that will require Massachusetts to achieve 100% renewable energy use with the next two decades, starting immediately and making significant progress with the first five years while protecting impacted workers and business.
Question 4 Shall the representative for this district be instructed to vote in favor of changes to the applicable House of Representative rules to make the results of all the votes in that body’s Legislative committee publicly available on the Legislature’s website?
Additional Resources
You will find a sample Bedford ballot on the Town website at https://www.bedfordma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif2781/f/uploads/specimen_ballot_november_2020.pdf
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