What Voting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ Means on the 2014 Massachusetts Ballot Questions

[Little Star]

A quick guide to the sometimes confusing world of ballot questions.

A friendly reassurance: voting on ballot questions is kind of confusing. Even if you follow the debates around this year’s referenda, you may have trouble keeping straight what a “yes” vote or a “no” vote actually means. In some cases, a “yes” means you support a new law. In other cases, it means repealing an existing law, making it feel a bit like a “no.”

Of course, if you get confused, you can always read the ballot carefully while you’re in the voting booth Tuesday. But no one likes to hang out in a high school gym longer than they have to. You’re not busy right now. Might as well do some prep work:

Question 1: Gas Tax

You’ll recall that the legislature passed a law in 2013 pegging the gas tax rate to inflation so that it would automatically rise (or fall) as the price of goods rises. Now, voters have a chance to repeal that, and polls predict a pretty close vote.

If you vote yes… you’re voting to repeal that law. That means the gas tax would no longer rise automatically with inflation but would stay at 24 cents per gallon until the legislature voted to change it.

If you vote no… you’re voting to keep the law in place. Nothing will change, and the gas tax will move with inflation.

The rest here:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/11/03/2014-massachusetts-ballot-question-breakdown/

[Ampersand Unicode]

1. Thanks, bookmarking this.

My dad took my mom's voter info book to work (he teaches social studies/current events at an alternative/juvie-hall school, and wanted the students -- who are not yet of voting age -- to "practice&quot . Of course, he took the one that had all of mom's notes on it about the ballot questions and didn't just pick up a blank one at work (or even Dunkin' Donuts -- there's a whole stack of them on a table when you walk in, next to the contest entries to win Patriots tickets).

Being that my dad is kind of a doofus, and will probably fill out the practice book like it was a contest entry, my prediction is that it'll be a close vote for governor between Baker and Coakley... and at least one vote for Rob Gronkowski.

[Little Star]

2. I'm sick to my stomach about Charlie Baker.....

Did you see this Insiders Poll?
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/10/31/insiders-poll-charlie-baker-martha-coakley-campaign/

Every Dem in this state needs to get out there and vote. If he wins (& I think he probably will) I'm going to puke.

Martha is the right person, she's just a lousy campaigner.

I'm scared.

[Mass]

3. Sick for Coakley, but I do not think it is her campaign skills that are the problem.

Last edited Mon Nov 3, 2014, 05:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Baker is just as bad as she is or even worse, but she is being overspent by a large number, as the DGA and third party groups stayed silent and a bunch of people are suckers for the promise of low taxes as long as the Republican in question is pro-choice.

Add to this the sexism that is still existing in MA (Warren won by a small margin in a presidential election year where Obama won by a lot more).

But may be we can throw out all these Dems who endorsed Baker.


EDIT: RGA outspent DGA by 9:1. Can we stop considering MA as a given for Democrats, particularly in governor's races.

This is the last time I give to any Democratic institution. My money goes to the candidates now.

[Mass]

4. Thanks for this. The questions are incredibly poorly worded, so I am sure a lot of people will vote

the opposite way of what they want with all these repeal questions.

[merrily]

5. The questions are usually very carefully worded. To get the result the 1% want.

So, too often, you have to vote NO if you want something and YES if you do not want it.

Like the title of the 1922 song, "Yes, We Have No Bananas."