Results have been slowly trickling in since polls closed on Tuesday night and although we’re still awaiting final tallies, I can say with confidence that Question 6, our non-binding ballot question about public committee votes, passed! In fact, we didn’t just win, we swept the gosh darn board: Question 6 won in every single district, and passed with an average of 85%. But of course averages aren’t the whole story–in Rep.-elect Sam Montaño’s district (an Act on Mass endorsee!) Question 6 passed with a resounding 94% support.
I cannot express enough gratitude to all of you who voted YES for public committee votes, and especially to those who helped collect signatures and campaign for our question. Together, we achieved the most successful ballot question campaign that Act on Mass has ever run!
We’ll post the full results on our website soon, but in the meantime you can see how your district and others fared in our working tally spreadsheet. This is an active document that we will continue to update as we get more information, and as tallies are certified by the Secretary of State’s office next week:
What comes next: Sweeping all 20 districts with a resounding YES means nothing if we don’t put this mandate to work. It’s now up to us to use these overwhelming results to ensure our legislators on Beacon Hill feel the heat from their constituents. Our strategy is to build grassroots power in each of these districts (and more!) such that the rep knows they can’t get away with voting for the status quo. .
Stay tuned for information about our Fall Membership Meeting, where we will debrief the ballot campaign and discuss next steps for turning this resounding electoral victory into rules reform.
Other Election Results
Question 1: Fair Share Amendment
YES WON. This is a monumental victory for Massachusetts; this question amended the state constitution to add a 4% surtax on annual income over $1 million. This modest tax on the super wealthy will generate $2 billion annually for public schools and transportation–two areas that have been devastatingly underfunded.
Question 4: Safer Roads
YES WON. Voters defeated the GOP-backed effort to repeal the Work & Family Mobility Act passed by the legislature earlier this year. This bill, now ensured to become law, creates a path for MA residents without federal status (i.e. undocumented immigrants) to obtain drivers licenses. MA joins 17 other states in adopting this commonsense policy.
Question 5: Single Payer Healthcare (Non-binding)
YES WON. We at Act on Mass proudly teamed up with Mass-Care to help collect signatures and campaign for their non-binding question asking voters if they want to instruct their rep to vote for Medicare for All in Massachusetts. Like question 6, results are still trickling in but everything we see indicates that question 5 won in all 20 districts as well!
Teresa English for State Rep in Billerica
Teresa lost. In our big heartbreak of Tuesday night, our endorsed candidate Teresa English lost her bid for state rep in the 22nd Middlesex district to the incumbent, far-right Republican Marc Lombardo. Teresa ran a fantastic campaign as a bold progressive in a reddish-purple district, and we could not be more proud of all her campaign accomplished over the course of the race, nor more grateful for the many ways she has served the people of Billerica!