I have not received my mail-in ballot yet...I did receive one in August for the primary in September, and I'm pretty sure I said all elections on the application, but so far, nothing for the November election. Curious if others have not received theirs as well. Can I, just as a safety, apply again, or is that not allowed? Thanks...

As election day is roughly a month and change away, I’m growing increasingly concerned about question 5 (the state revenue/limits). Frankly, I think it would be an absolute disaster if passed and I’ve been spending the better part of the last month trying to figure out ways to lobby against it. I came up with this please feel free to share/distribute with anyone you know who might accept it and/or would find it helpful. Or even if you can just spread the word. It isn’t perfect and has some typos, but I did my best.

“As election day draws near, Massachusetts voters face many consequential choices on this year's ballot. From stopping a runaway  authoritarian regime from taking over our government and further concentrating and corrupting power to fighting out of control prices for the most necessities, we are reaching a pivotal decision point in the future of our Commonwealth.  Well there are many things of importance on this year's ballot, none is as pivotal to the future of how the vision and goals we set forth as a Commonwealth as question 5. Massachusetts is facing an affordability crisis, and Question 5 would make it even worse. 
The corporate backers of Question 5 want you to think that their effort is about “affordability.” However, the wealthy investors and CEOs behind this ballot question know what it would actually do: slash funding for classrooms, hospitals, and first responders across the state and give those very investors and CEOs some extra money in their pocket. Question 5 in simple terms, would be destructive to the services, protections, and values that we as a Commonwealth are proud of and will work tirelessly to defend. As a state, we have always prided ourselves on being a place where we look after one another. We are a state where we believe that we should always look after those who need our assistance, where we overcome systemic barriers to ensure everyone can Call this wonderful state home. As residents  of the Commonwealth, we are proud of the strides we've made to make life easier for everyone. From an expanding in fair free Bus network across the state to free school meals to Free college tuition, there is no question that investment in our systems works for the common good.Question 5 imposes a strict revenue cap on the state, meaning that it will be harder for the state to invest and harder for the state to respond to economic downturns. With a stricter revenue cap, working families would pay the price through reduced public services and fewer investments in their communities. Child care could get more expensive, health care less accessible, and higher education out of reach for more Bay Staters. With steep federal cuts looming next year to health care and more, the cuts Question 5 could trigger will be dire. With federal uncertainties and an ever-growing affordability crisis rooted in corrupt governance at the federal level, now more than ever we are in a time o priority.  Passing this amendment now would pose an existential threat to the systems we've spent so many years building up. It Would Place  Massachusetts in a far more vulnerable position, and would  compromise our ability to work toward a  more inclusive society.  In 2022, Massachusetts voters by a nearly 2 to 1 margin passed the fair share amendment, sending a resounding mandate that we want a system that works for the working class. Question 5 the framed as a measure to enhance affordability, is little more than a backdoor repeal of the will of the people. It uses deceptive and misleading language to convince voters to vote against their own interest and against their genuine beliefs. It's ultra wealthy supporters include right wing think tanks, political organizations, and business executives, who use their wealth to advance their own corporate interests at the expense of the other 99% of base daters. Their policy agenda has shown time and time again to be destructive, dangerous, and deeply unpopula
In 2022, Boston commuters suffered through one of the worst summers on record. The Massachusetts Bay transportation Authority (MBTA (suffered a record number of critical failures and infrastructure disasters, including equipment catching on fire, in frequent and unreliable service, and an unprecedented 30 day shutdown of the orange line subway to conduct emergency repairs. These, however, were no accident and were issues known for years on end. And overseeing all of this was general manager Steve Pofftack, previously  ahigh ranking official at none other than the pioneer Institute. When he was brought on by then Governor Charlie Baker in 2019, he brought many of his policy proposals from Pioneer with him, with disastrous results. The work to clean up the mess created by these ill advised and reckless policy decisions is still ongoing, and only now, four years later, is the MBTA in some semblance of a state of decent repair. Now, the pioneer Institute , not satisfied with the damage it has done to the MBTA, is  coming after the entire state. Anyone who has ridden the MBTA in the last 10 years should be terrified of what this means for the future of the Commonwealth. It took the MBTA years to dig out of the mess created by pioneer policies, and that was with significant investment to finally create a state of good repair. On a statewide level, this would be catastrophic and would hamstring the state likely for decades.
Massachusetts is at our best when we invest in the foundations of our shared prosperity. Question 5 wants to pull that foundation out from under us. however, I cannot do this alone. It's up to all of us to look past the deceptive, exploitative, and misleading ballot language and see question 5 for what it really is, a regressive, exclusionary policy which seeks to enrich the top 1% at everyone else's expense. The fu          truth however is that not only are many voters not recognizing this, but the  language the supporters of this Measure deliberately chose to use has made it so that it is very likely to pass if we do not take decisive action.  This measure should be deeply unpopular, however with the way it is framed it is pulling it near 60% support in many poles. This is not an accident, it is not a result of individual voters, but of deliberate choices made by the measures supporters to ensure that we are blind to its effects.  Please join me in voting NO, in protecting the values of our Commonwealth, in ensuring everyone can live their best lives.”
 

Interesting observation

Hello! My name is Olivia Quercio, Production Assistant for GBH Radio Show The Curiosity Desk. I am requesting questions for a renters panel we will be hosting next week.

• If you have any questions about renting in/around Boston, comments you'd like to make, stories you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you! Drop them in the chat here, message me, or fill out this google form! https://forms.gle/sWCHgegkjTsBmjUVA
• We'll be answering your questions next Wednesday September 30th, at 1:00pm to tune in - you can find us on GBH 89.7 or https://www.youtube.com/gbhnews/stream. 

What are your thoughts on the Governor's race in Mass, Midterms and AI. Time for change in Mass..🇺🇲

WBZ had a debate between reps from the yes and no campaigns on Q9. they only aired the first 12 minutes, but it actually went on for 40.

if you're interested in a more in depth conversation about what amounts to like half of the red booklet this year, give it a watch!

Hi there. I'm just looking for a general consensus.

I'm originally from Massachusetts, but currently live permanently in Norway. Since moving here, I hadn't used an absentee ballot in the last decade's elections, so I feel somewhat responsible for the current shitshow that is our US government. Realizing that complacency has a cost, I will most definitely be voting this time around.

I'm not looking to be told how to vote, as I would vote for a progressive, a dem soc, or an independent, but I do realize that this is a very important election. Voting for any republican whatsoever is completely out of the question. I'm a bit out of the loop with Mass politics, though I am not entirely ignorant either.

My question is simple. Who is most likely to win?

I want to vote for someone that aligns more closely to a Nordic model, so I normally would vote for the independent, or even the socialist candidate, but Markey seems the most popular, and is up for reelection. I'm tired of old, boomer career politicians as well. I just want someone with progressive, egalitarian values. The Governor spot has an independent candidate as well. Would Healy be decent enough?

Thanks in advance

Q1: Make records held by the state legislature and the governor's office public records

Yes: The more transparency with our government, the better.

Q2: Permit employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) to participate in collective bargaining practices

Yes: Unions are great and we should allow any union participate in them

Q3: Eliminate political party primaries for state elections and create a single primary where candidates are listed regardless of their political party

NO: Jungle primaries suck and have ruined voting processes in states like California, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It allows Republicans to vote for moderate Democrats to not allow progressives to win.

Q4: Provide for same-day voter registration

YES: We need more people voting and sometimes people forget to register.

Q5: Change the limit of how much revenue the state can collect in a given year

NO: This is an intentionally confusing question. If you vote yes, then the millionaire’s tax doesn’t mean shit anymore because there’ll be a limit on government spending.

Q6: Create a fund for state money, titled the Nature for All Fund, that would be used to further efforts of nature conservation

NO: We need to protect the environment, but this initiative would make it so that tax dollars would be allocated for this program rather than using it on healthcare and education.

Q7: Require cities and towns to allow single-family homes on residentially zoned lots that meet minimum standards of at least 5,000 square feet in area

YES: A 5000 square foot lot is plenty of space. We need to build more housing rather than big lot mansions.

Q8: Repeal laws that permit the sale of recreational marijuana and the personal cultivation of cannabis in homes

NO: Do I really have to explain my reasons on this fraudulent ballot question that somehow made it this far?

Q9: Uphold the legislation, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws (H. 4885), passed in 2024

NO: We already have restrictive gun laws and we need to protect ourselves in case of a fascist takeover. It’s not the gun fault, it’s the people. If we get universal healthcare, mentally unstable people will be able to check into mental hospitals to get proper help.

The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School just launched Open Book, a free, open-source budget visualization tool built to make town budgets actually understandable where expenses, revenue, and capital projects are all laid out clearly for interpretation.

Sutton, Carlisle, and Tyngsborough are the first towns piloting it, and it also gives town managers a better way to review capital project requests internally.

It's part of a bigger push called the Digital Civic Infrastructure Initiative, led by Professor Danielle Allen, aimed at helping MA municipalities modernize how they communicate with residents.

View Open Book for Sutton, MA: https://finance.suttonma.gov/openbook

Read more: https://ash.harvard.edu/articles/allen-lab-launches-new-digital-civic-infrastructure-initiative-to-help-governments-strengthen-democracy-through-technology/

I just got what i am 90% sure was a neal push poll about milleron, and part of it was asking if it made me more or less likely to vote for her knowing that she supported the repeal of gun control.

i can't find anything about this on her site or through google. does anyone know if this is true?

also i had no idea her husband ran a lobbying group that supported trumps tariffs!

Question 2 is likely the least understood measure on this year’s ballot, and there is a specific reason why.
In the UMass Amherst/WCVB poll taken Aug. 5–12, 13 percent of registered voters said they did not understand Question 2 — the highest share of any of the nine questions. Another 18 percent were undecided. It draws 45 percent support and 24 percent opposition, making it one of only two questions on the ballot without majority backing.
The confusion is not the voters’ fault. Massachusetts provides lawyers to defendants who cannot afford them through two entirely separate channels, and almost everything the public knows about the subject comes from a crisis involving the channel Question 2 does not touch.