The 2020 Ballot Questions

Every two years, Massachusetts voters may be called upon to vote whether or not to enact new laws, amend the Constitution, or repeal recently passed laws through ballot questions. Ballot questions have been around since the formation of the Commonwealth, but the process for allowing citizens to initiate laws, amendments, and repeals has only been in effect for the past 100 years.

In 2020, two questions are on the General Election ballot as a result of citizen-initiated petitions for a new law.

 

Each election year, the Secretary of the Commonwealth creates the familiar “Information for Voters.” The red booklet is sent to the homes of all registered voters, and the focus is on the ballot questions. The booklet also includes information on voting.

QUESTION 1

Short Name: Motor Vehicle Mechanical Data

LWV of Massachusetts Stand: None

Impact of Yes and No: A YES VOTE would provide motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities with expanded access to wirelessly transmitted mechanical data related to their vehicles’ maintenance and repair.
A NO VOTE would make no change in the law governing access to vehicles’ wirelessly transmitted mechanical data.

Report from Tufts University Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University’s Tisch College

The report weighs the evidence and provides non-partisan assessment on Massachusetts Question 1. See the press release for a summary.

For statement of fiscal consequences, arguments for and against, and full text of the law, see page 4 of the 2020 Information for Voters.

Summary (prepared by Attorney General): This proposed law would require that motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities be provided with expanded access to mechanical data related to vehicle maintenance and repair.

Starting with model year 2022, the proposed law would require manufacturers of motor vehicles sold in Massachusetts to equip any such vehicles that use telematics systems –- systems that collect and wirelessly transmit mechanical data to a remote server –- with a standardized open access data platform. Owners of motor vehicles with telematics systems would get access to mechanical data through a mobile device application. With vehicle owner authorization, independent repair facilities (those not affiliated with a manufacturer) and independent dealerships would be able to retrieve mechanical data from, and send commands to, the vehicle for repair, maintenance, and diagnostic testing.

Under the proposed law, manufacturers would not be allowed to require authorization before owners or repair facilities could access mechanical data stored in a motor vehicle’s on-board diagnostic system, except through an authorization process standardized across all makes and models and administered by an entity unaffiliated with the manufacturer.

The proposed law would require the Attorney General to prepare a notice for prospective motor vehicle owners and lessees explaining telematics systems and the proposed law’s requirements concerning access to the vehicle’s mechanical data. Under the proposed law, dealers would have to provide prospective owners with, and prospective owners would have to acknowledge receipt of, the notice before buying or leasing a vehicle. Failure to comply with these notice requirements would subject motor vehicle dealers to sanctions by the applicable licensing authority.

Motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities could enforce this law through state consumer protection laws and recover civil penalties of the greater of treble damages or $10,000 per violation.

Statement from Jane Doe Inc.

Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, has been identified in the Red Booklet and in interviews and forums as an organization that opposes Question 1. A statement from Jane Doe Inc. clarifies its position in a statement on its website. The key provision states:

“This past week, many of you received a 2020 Voters Guide in the mail. In that guide, JDI is quoted and portrayed as opposing Question 1. We would like to be clear that JDI was not consulted about our inclusion in this guide. While JDI is not taking a public stand on this ballot question, at this time, we do not believe that a YES vote on 1 would uniquely compromise survivor safety in the manner portrayed by opponents.”

It is also explained in the Red Booklet (page 5) that the Commonwealth of MA does not endorse the arguments In Favor and Against in the Red Booklet and does not certify the truth or accuracy of the statements. Advocates for and against are given 150 words to make their arguments and are identified as the authors of the statements.

Money Spent by Campaigns (as of Oct 15, 2020)
Source: MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance, ocpf.us

For a complete list of donors for the vote yes committee, visit the MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance website and click on “Data.”

For a complete list of donors for the vote no committee, visit the MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance website and click on “Data.”

Listen to this podcast from CommonWealth Magazine’s Codcast. the interviewer tries very hard to give voters the information they need to make an informed decision. Tommy Hickey, director of the Right to Repair Coalition, and Conor Yunits, a spokesman for No on One, joined the Codcast to discuss the ballot question – and disagreed on even the most factual details of what the current law says and how the ballot question would change it.

Watch the League of Women Voters of Framingham program with a proponent and opponent of Question 1.

Articles Appearing in the Press

Boston Globe endorses yes on Question 1, Oct 13, 2020.

Boston Globe Sep 21, 2020 Massachusetts Has Been Pummeled by Ads about Question-1

QUESTION 2

Short Name: Ranked-Choice Voting

LWV of Massachusetts Stand: In favor

Impact of Yes and No: A YES VOTE would create a system of ranked-choice voting in which voters would have the option to rank candidates in order of preference and votes would be counted in rounds, eliminating candidates with the lowest votes until one candidate has received a majority.
A NO VOTE would make no change in the laws governing voting and how votes are counted.

Watch this quick overview of how Ranked-Choice Voting works. Several League of Women Voters forums are planned, we will post one here soon.

For statement of fiscal consequences, arguments for and against, and full text of the law, see page 7 of the 2020 Information for Voters.

Summary (prepared by Attorney General): This proposed law would implement a voting system known as “ranked-choice voting,” in which voters rank one or more candidates by order of preference. Ranked-choice voting would be used in primary and general elections for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices beginning in 2022. Ranked-choice voting would not be used in elections for president, county commissioner, or regional district school committee member.

Under the proposed law, votes would be counted in a series of rounds. In the first round, if one candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, that candidate would be declared the winner and no other rounds would be necessary. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, then the candidate or candidates who received the fewest first-place votes would be eliminated and, in the next round, each vote for an eliminated candidate would instead be counted toward the next highest-ranked candidate on that voter’s ballot. Depending on the number of candidates, additional rounds of counting could occur, with the last-place candidate or candidates in each round being eliminated and the votes for an eliminated candidate going to the voter’s next choice out of the remaining candidates. A tie for last place in any round would be broken by comparing the tied candidates’ support in earlier rounds. Ultimately, the candidate who was, out of the remaining candidates, the preference of a majority of voters would be declared the winner.

Ranked-choice voting would be used only in races where a single candidate is to be declared the winner and not in races where more than one person is to be elected.

Under the proposed law, if no candidate received more than 50 percent of first-place votes in the first round, the rounds of ballot-counting necessary for ranked-choice voting would be conducted at a central tabulation facility. At the facility, voters’ rankings would be entered into a computer, which would then be used to calculate the results of each round of the counting process. The proposed law provides that candidates in a statewide or district election would have at least three days to request a recount.

The Secretary of State would be required to issue regulations to implement the proposed law and conduct a voter education campaign about the ranked-choice voting process. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2022.

Watch a Forum from LWV-Hingham

Money Spent by Campaigns (as of Oct 15, 2020)
Source: MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance, ocpf.us

For a complete list of donors for the vote yes committee, visit the MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance website and click on “Data.”

For a complete list of donors for the vote no committee, visit the MA Office of Campaign and Political Finance website and click on “Data.”

Report from Tufts University Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University’s Tisch College

The report weighs the evidence and provides non-partisan assessment on Massachusetts Question 2. See the press release for a summary.

Opinion Articles

Boston Globe Endorsement of Vote Yes on Question 2

Eitan Hersh makes the case to vote No

Danielle Allen makes the case to vote Yes

Other Articles (not a complete list)

Assessment of how RCV has worked in Maine