Howdy,

Exciting news: we’re taking Transparency on Tour to the Speaker’s district!!!! 

Thanks to your generosity last week, we were able to raise enough funds for a table at the August Moon Festival in downtown Quincy. Tomorrow, Act on Mass, volunteers, and allies will be spreading the word about the movement for transparency in our state government right in the heart of Speaker Ron Mariano's district. If you’re a Quincy resident, be sure to come down to our table to say hi– and grab an “Accountability Card”! Or 3! 

After tomorrow, we will have officially finished 21 districts– more than halfway to our goal of tabling in all 40 Senate districts. This work has been so rewarding. Just this week, we shared a table in Cambridge with immigrant organizers pushing for the Safe Communities Act, spoke with farmers in Marshfield about Beacon Hill’s support for HIP benefits, and met an organizer from Boston who spent 30 years pushing for basic midwifery licensing updates at the State House. As we've spread the word about good government, this tour has also informed our understanding of how Beacon Hill’s action (or lack thereof) impacts communities all around the Bay State. 

We’re scheduling new districts every week, so be sure to check our volunteer sign-up form for when we’re coming to a district near you!

JOIN US ON THE ROAD>>

 If we haven't visited your district yet, you can help us out by suggesting a farmers market or community event you know on his form. You can also help us towards our goal with a small donation to support our efforts. Thank you for your support! 

DONATE TO SUPPORT TRANSPARENCY ON TOUR>>

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State House Scoop

On ballot questions, frustration with Beacon Hill stonewalling reaches highest echelons of state government 

Last week, we talked about some of the potential ballot language filed by MA residents last week, all hoping to put a question before the voters in 2026– including Act on Mass' efforts for stipend reform. 

Several of these questions are the outcome of years of frustration trying to get a particular policy passed through regular legislative channels on Beacon Hill. This was the case with last year’s ballot question to end the MCAS graduation requirement, which was based on a bill that had been “sent to study” (a.k.a. killed) without a vote in at least three legislative sessions. As we discussed last week, one of the potential questions for 2026 would ask voters to weigh in on local option tenant protections, a policy which has failed repeatedly without a vote in the state house. 

Apparently, it’s not only voters and advocates fed up with pushing for legislation for years on end without a response from Beacon Hill. Secretary of State Bill Galvin, who has been a figure in Massachusetts politics for nearly 40 years, also filed his own question last week to ask the voters to implement Same Day Voter Registration. Commonwealth Beacon’s coverage puts it plainly: “Secretary of state says he’s tired of waiting for Legislature to act.” 

Us too, Bill! Same Day Voter Registration has been one of Act on Mass “priority bills” for years now, where we keep track of popular and common-sense pieces of legislation that die repeatedly without a vote in our dysfunctional legislature. 23 states and the District of Columbia allow voters to register the day of the election, which has been shown to boost voter turnout. Yet, MA law currently requires voters to register at their current address at least 10 days before the election. In New England, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the only states yet to adopt same-day voter registration. 

Same-day voter registration is in the platform of the Massachusetts Democratic party. Yet, the policy has yet to pass our Democratic supermajority legislature. The Senate has voted to approve the policy several times, but it has not been brought to a vote in the House. Secretary Galvin’s explanation? “There’s obviously opposition from people who are in a position to be influential.” Of course, with committee votes private until just last month, you’d have a hard time finding out exactly who.  

Some have speculated that the blockage might be motivated by “self-preservation” on the part of sitting lawmakers, who have benefited from current voting patterns. If so, it would be par for the course. Just last year, Act on Mass called our legislators out on voting to move up their own primary two weeks to coincide with Labor Day weekend. Another aspect: most leases in the Boston area turn over on September 1st. Due to the current 10-day requirement, any renters who moved on September 1st last year were not able to register at their new address in time to vote in the primary. 

Ironically, Governor Healey filed a $2.45 billion supplemental budget this week which would pack in a few policy changes in the fine print– including shifting next year’s primary election to September 1st, 2026. Now imagine handling the stress of moving, or even simply traveling to your precinct location amid streets choked with moving vans, all while trying to make an informed choice of your next state representative. Unfortunately, anything that depresses voter turnout helps preserve the status quo, and that’s just how Beacon Hill likes it. 

Secretary Galvin has stated that his primary goal with filing the same-day voter registration ballot initiative is to spur action from Beacon Hill. We’ll keep crossing our fingers on that one. Still, it is remarkable that just two years after the State Auditor resorted to the ballot to get around Beacon Hill stonewalling, another constitutional officer of the Commonwealth is forced to take an issue to the voters to make sure that it gets meaningful consideration at the State House. 

Speaking of which, Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s frustration with the legislature was also on display this week as she and her team of auditors continue their attempts to enforce the law passed by 72% of the voters last year. The legislature is still refusing to comply with the audit, claiming that the law is unconstitutional. However, they’re in no rush to get an opinion on that matter from the Supreme Judicial Court– the only body in Massachusetts that has the power to actually rule on constitutionality. The auditor’s attempts to take the matter to court have so far been thwarted by the Attorney General’s office, whose position I don’t envy either: the legislature sets her yearly budget. All this delay has left the will of the voters ignored. 

The takeaway: even with new transparency changes in place, our legislature still has a long way to go to become the functional, accountable, and democratic body it ought to be. We deserve a legislature where a common-sense, popular policy like same-day voter registration doesn’t need to go to the ballot to see the light of day. And you don’t have to take my word for it: Massachusetts’ statewide elected officials are beating that same drum.

Worth reading: more stories from this week

Some stories from local, regional, and national news about what's going on in the Bay State

Transparency on Tour: Progress Report

Had a great time in Cambridge and Marshfield this week. And the tour keeps rolling! Upcoming dates: 

  • Quincy August Moon Festival, August 17th, 11 am - 3 pm in Quincy
  • Braintree Farmers Market, August 30th, 9-1 pm at Braintree Town Hall
  • North Adams Farmers Market, September 20th, 9 am - 1 pm Main Street in North Adams

If one of these are in your district or a district you want to visit, join us to table!

If one of these are in your district or a district you want to visit, join us to table!

HELP US HIT 40 DISTRICTS THIS SUMMER>>

Bilingual? Act on Mass seeks translating help 

 Another way to help us out with our Transparency on Tour initiative: translating some of our literature into common second languages! We are particularly looking for Spanish and Portuguese speakers. If you might be able to help us translate a flyer or two, please reach out to Scotia at scotia@actonmass.org. 

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Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.

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Take Action

Annual Free Her March - September 13th, 10:30 AM

Our allies in the fight for decarceration of women and girls in Massachusetts will be hosting their annual march in Framingham on September 13th. Join them to call on Governor Healey and the legislature to stop the construction of a $360 million women's prison complex and support the Free Her policy platform. 

RSVP FOR MORE INFO ON #FREEHER MARCH>>

Help us support a documentary about Beacon Hill dysfunction

Shadows on the Hill is a documentary about the real reason popular bills don’t pass: leadership decides which ones live, which ones die, and who gets punished for speaking out. The film is fundraising now to finish production.** Watch the trailer (featuring a familiar face!) and help amplify the campaign.** 

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As the legislature rounds off August recess, we'll be taking a couple weeks off the Scoop for some vacation of our own. Talk to you in a few weeks! 

In solidarity,

Scotia

Scotia Hille (she/her)

Executive Director, Act on Mass