BOSTON — The five ballot questions, all of which but one have been called, were a major reason outside of the presidential race that drove Massachusetts voters to the polls on Election Day.
[ 2024 Massachusetts election: Live voting results for 5 ballot measures ]
Besides picking candidates, Massachusetts voters were tasked with voting on five ballot questions.
Question One—allowing the state auditor to investigate the legislature—passed with 71% of the vote. This new measure could now open the doors for scrutiny of a legislative body that is exempt from open meetings and public records laws, but some believe this is unnecessary.
“It feels like a good way to spend extra money for no reason and it feels like an outreach of power that the branch shouldn’t have there,” said Mike Dimaio, out on Boylston Street.
Question Two—which asked voters to drop the MCAS as a requirement for high school graduation—passed with support from nearly 59% of voters. This means the test will be used as an assessment and schools will decide their own graduation requirements.
“I’ve always had a thing against standardized testing to be completely honest I just don’t think it’s a good way to assess anybody’s ability to perform on any kind of academic thing,” said Olivia Palmer in Boston.
On Question Three, about 54 percent of voters agreed to allow rideshare drivers to unionize.
“It’s always good to have unions to have protection,” said Connor who voted yes on Question three. “If there’s a union they might fight for better prices. No, I wouldn’t mind [paying more] for the better of the drivers.”
Voters rejected the last two questions—one that would’ve legalized the sale of psychedelic drugs.
‘Some people that I respect some doctors said that the law just wasn’t written well, like the idea was a good one, but maybe not regulated well enough,” said Gail Gardner, who voted no on question four.
Voters also rejected a raise in the minimum wage for tipped workers—meaning pay for servers and bartenders will remain at $6.75 an hour. While this was a win for the restaurants, some voters supported increasing servers’ pay to $15 an hour.
“I’m worried how it will affect them, making sure they have job security but I want them to have a living wage just like everyone else,” said DiMaio.
While these major issues were voted on last night, it’s unclear as to when each one will take effect—details will need to be worked out on each of them.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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