NURSE STAFFING ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list. The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Auditor says expanded voting hours will cost $2m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE WILL OWE cities and towns more than $2 million to keep polling places open for additional mandated voting hours during the September 2022 state primary and November 2022 general elections, Auditor Suzanne Bump said Tuesday. Under the 1983 Uniform Polling Hours Law, cities and towns must keep polling locations […]
Posted inOpinion
Grid operator should stop crying wolf
NEW ENGLAND’S fossil fuel interests and electric grid operator are at it again. Every winter, they issue dire warnings that our region’s power grid won’t be able to handle the stress of another season of extreme weather. As this week’s CommonWealth story highlights, 2022 is no different. It’s time to call out ISO-New England (our […]
Posted inPolitics
House stands firm against same-day voter registration
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S MOSTLY successful experiment with voting-by-mail during the COVID-19 pandemic would become a permanent option for voters in future elections, but House lawmakers on Thursday passed a major voting access bill that omitted voter registration rule changes sought by advocates and the Senate. The House voted 124-34 to pass a […]
Posted inPolitics
Same-day voter registration could be sticking point
SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION could become a sticking point between the two branches as the House this week prepares to take up a voting reform bill that passed the Senate last year. The House version of the legislation, which is likely to emerge from the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, is expected to include early […]
Posted inPolitics
Costly ballot fights ahead on gig economy, income tax amendment
A BALLOT QUESTION that would classify Uber and Lyft workers as independent contractors while granting them certain workplace benefits is shaping up to be the biggest and most expensive fight on the ballot this November, according to newly filed campaign finance reports, while a campaign to raise the income tax rate on income over $1 […]
Posted inThe Download
Sullivan frames secretary of state run as ‘unique moment for our democracy’
The secretary of state position across the 50 states is not normally one that inflames deep passions or draws lots of attention when it comes to electing the person holding the office. But these are not normal times, and the usually rote business of running elections and certifying vote totals – the chief responsibility that […]
Posted inPolitics
Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga promises reset of City Hall
One in a series looking at newly-elected mayors across the Commonwealth. GLOUCESTER MAYOR Greg Verga was sworn into office on New Year’s Day promising to reset the tone in City Hall after a contentious term by former mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. Verga, 53, is a lifelong Gloucester resident who held several jobs. He started working in shipping at an aerospace […]
Posted inOpinion
Lower the voting age, the planet depends on it
DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, destructive hurricanes, extended droughts, and rising sea levels: These effects of climate change, feared by scientists for decades, are now reality for innumerable communities around the globe. Yet, despite these undisputable warnings from our planet, legislation to cut emissions consistently stalls in state and federal legislatures. America’s promise to remain dedicated to the […]
Posted inThe Download
Labor unions top PAC fundraising
Organized labor, always a powerful force in Democratic-dominated Massachusetts, continues to hold sway heading into the 2022 election season – and nowhere is that clearer than in fundraising. The Office of Campaign and Political Finance put out a newsletter Thursday listing the 10 political action committees with the largest bank accounts at the end of […]