Massachusetts voters have seen a lot of back and forth around the transgender rights and nurse staffing ballot questions, but they haven’t been inundated with ads supporting or opposing Question 2, which concerns campaign finance reform.
Why? Well, there hasn’t been any spending on advertising from either side.
Massachusetts ballot Question 2 is the least controversial ballot question, but it tackles a big issue — campaign spending. The measure asks voters to create a citizens commission tasked with researching and reporting on “dark money” spent in Massachusetts elections and then to make recommendations for what a 28th Amendment to the U.S. constitution “could and should say,” said Ben Gubits, political director of American Promise.
Who supports Massachusetts ballot Question 2?
American Promise is a national organization aimed at amending the Constitution by overturning Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United, which ruled that politician spending is a form a free speech (alllowing unlimited campaign spending from corporations and unions).
The organization supports Massachusetts Ballot Question 2, which has seen high public support — 71 percent in favor, according to a recent poll. The campaign’s lack of advertisements speaks to what can be done in politics without a lot of money, according to Gubits.
“We’re putting to test the notion that you need millions of dollars to run an effective ballot campaign,” he said. “With enough support and enough consensus, you can do pretty amazing things with direct democracy.”
A “yes” vote on Massachusetts ballot Question 2 would establish this commission, which would be made up of 15 volunteers who will apply and then be appointed by the Massachusetts governor, secretary of state, speaker of the house and senate president.
Who opposes Massachusetts Ballot Question 2?
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance wrote the opposition statement for the secretary of state’s Voter Guide on ballot Question 2, asking people to vote “no.” The organization, which advocates for “fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability in state government,” has two main issues with the ballot measure.
Paul Craney, spokesperson for the alliance, said this could restrict the First Amendment rights, mainly freedom of speech, of nonprofits, corporations and unions. An amendment would mean that the government is regulating speech, he said, but he believes Citizens United is “fair and clear” when it comes to allowing free speech for all.
“It allows all different voices to have as much voice as they want as long as they have the funds to do it,” he said. “You can’t really argue with that.”
The alliance’s other issue is with the citizen’s commission itself. The idea that elected officials are picking these members as their surrogates, Craney said, would mean its work would benefit the elected officials over the public.
Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 could unite residents, supporters say
Gubits said his organization would work to ensure that the committee is a diverse representation of the commonwealth across geographical, political, socioeconomic and age lines.
“We gathered 130,000 signatures to get this on the ballot from all 351 towns and cities in Massachusetts,” he said. “That’s all across the board, the political spectrum, the whole commonwealth. That’s why we think it’ll do well on November 6.”
Most Americans do want to limit campaign spending, research has found, and elected officials from Gov. Charlie Baker to Senator Elizabeth Warren support Question 2. To Gubits, ballot Question 2 could unite Massachusetts voters in a unique way.
“I think that people are hungry for something that they can come together and agree on,” he said. “With all of the nasty rhetoric and vitriol and partisan divisiveness, I think that people are really hungry to set aside some of those partisan divides and come together and work on something truly historic that we can all agree upon.”
