A partisan battle is brewing in the Legislature over vote-by-mail – with the first salvo coming on a seemingly innocuous bill to extend municipal voting by mail for another three months. Since the state let citizens vote by mail for any reason in the 2020 elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates have been calling […]
Elections
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Partisan battle brewing over vote-by-mail
A PARTISAN BATTLE is brewing in the Legislature over vote-by-mail – with the first salvo coming on a seemingly innocuous bill to extend municipal voting by mail for another three months. Since the state let citizens vote by mail for any reason in the 2020 elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates have been calling […]
Posted inPolitics
If Baker opts not to run, state GOP split on successor
A POLL COMMISSIONED by the conservative Fiscal Alliance Foundation indicates Republican primary voters would be split if Gov. Charlie Baker decides not to seek reelection next year. The poll initially asked 752 voters who have cast ballots in previous Democratic and Republican primaries their stances on a handful of policy issues. It then asked a […]
Posted inThe Download
Commission backs use of campaign funds for childcare
Until she ran for Congress, Liuba Grechen Shirley of New York worked from home as a consultant while caring for her children. In order to campaign, she had to hire a caregiver for her kids. Shirley went on to lose her congressional race, but she succeed in making it easier for other parents to run […]
Posted inPolitics
Commission backs use of campaign funds for childcare
UNTIL SHE RAN for Congress, Liuba Grechen Shirley of New York worked from home as a consultant while caring for her children. In order to campaign, she had to hire a caregiver for her kids. Shirley went on to lose her congressional race, but she succeed in making it easier for other parents to run […]
Posted inPolitics
Santiago jumps into Boston mayor’s race
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JON SANTIAGO, a second-term state lawmaker and emergency room doctor from Boston’s South End, is entering the race to succeed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, joining a diverse field of candidates that already includes three members of the City Council. Santiago plans to announce his campaign Tuesday, beginning with a digital ad […]
Posted inThe Download
Constitutional challenge to vote-by-mail likely
Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin and voting rights advocates want to allow Massachusetts residents to vote by mail for any reason. But is that constitutional? The Massachusetts Constitution explicitly says the Legislature can authorize absentee voting for just three reasons: if someone is out of town, physically disabled, or cannot vote on Election Day […]
Posted inPolitics
Constitutional challenge to vote-by-mail likely
SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH Bill Galvin and voting rights advocates want to allow Massachusetts residents to vote by mail for any reason. But is that constitutional? The Massachusetts Constitution explicitly says the Legislature can authorize absentee voting for just three reasons: if someone is out of town, physically disabled, or cannot vote on Election Day […]
Posted inPolitics
Six legislative districts shift majority minority
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW ANALYSIS shows that the populations of at least five state House of Representatives districts and one Senate district have moved from mostly white to majority-minority, a demographic shift that could have implications when lawmakers draw new district boundaries later this year. Lawyers for Civil Rights, which commissioned the analysis […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin backs permanent mail-in voting
CITING THE SUCCESS of mail-in voting during the pandemic, Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin on Tuesday released a bill that would make voting by mail a permanent feature of Massachusetts elections. Galvin said vote-by-mail led to record turnout in the state primary and the presidential election, with prompt, reliable results. “Voters were very enthusiastic […]