Summary of Question 2
This proposed law would implement a voting system known as 'ranked-choice voting,' in which voters rank one or more candidates by order of preference. Ranked-choice voting would be used in primary and general elections for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices beginning in 2022. Ranked-choice voting would not be used in elections for president, county commissioner, or regional district school committee member. Under the proposed law, votes would be counted in a series of rounds. In the first round, if one candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, that candidate would be declared the winner and no other rounds would be necessary. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, then the candidate or candidates who received the fewest first-place votes would be eliminated and, in the next round, each vote for an eliminated candidate would instead be counted toward the next highest-ranked candidate on that voter's ballot. Depending on the number of candidates, additional rounds of counting could occur, with the last-place candidate or candidates in each round being eliminated and the votes for an eliminated candidate going to the voter's next choice out of the remaining candidates. A tie for last place in any round would be broken by comparing the tied candidates' support in earlier rounds. Ultimately, the candidate who was, out of the remaining candidates, the preference of a majority of voters would be declared the winner. Ranked-choice voting would be used only in races where a single candidate is to be declared the winner and not in races where more than one person is to be elected. Under the proposed law, if no candidate received more than 50 percent of first-place votes in the first round, the rounds of ballot-counting necessary for ranked-choice voting would be conducted at a central tabulation facility. At the facility, voters' rankings would be entered into a computer, which would then be used to calculate the results of each round of the counting process. The proposed law provides that candidates in a statewide or district election would have at least three days to request a recount. The Secretary of State would be required to issue regulations to implement the proposed law and conduct a voter education campaign about the ranked-choice voting process. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2022.""
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2020 - Middlesex County - Question 2Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives on or before May 5, 2020?
View as: # | % | Middlesex County Results |
City/Town | Ward | Pct | Blanks | Total Votes Cast | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | 431,940 |
387,543 |
49,864 | 869,347 | ||
Acton
More » |
8,169 |
5,452 |
397 |
14,018 |
||
Arlington
More » |
17,724 |
9,978 |
1,057 |
28,759 |
||
Ashby |
691 |
1,254 |
87 |
2,032 |
||
Ashland
More » |
4,900 |
5,226 |
438 |
10,564 |
||
Ayer
More » |
2,046 |
2,448 |
159 |
4,653 |
||
Bedford
More » |
4,608 |
3,933 |
361 |
8,902 |
||
Belmont
More » |
8,847 |
5,833 |
812 |
15,492 |
||
Billerica
More » |
8,609 |
15,003 |
1,166 |
24,778 |
||
Boxborough |
1,843 |
1,456 |
141 |
3,440 |
||
Burlington
More » |
6,071 |
8,549 |
811 |
15,431 |
||
Cambridge
More » |
40,117 |
11,500 |
3,422 |
55,039 |
||
Carlisle |
2,095 |
1,415 |
160 |
3,670 |
||
Chelmsford
More » |
9,148 |
12,390 |
948 |
22,486 |
||
Concord
More » |
7,289 |
4,573 |
529 |
12,391 |
||
Dracut
More » |
5,456 |
10,093 |
2,478 |
18,027 |
||
Dunstable |
796 |
1,229 |
178 |
2,203 |
||
Everett
More » |
6,565 |
6,852 |
1,476 |
14,893 |
||
Framingham
More » |
15,385 |
15,448 |
1,402 |
32,235 |
||
Groton
More » |
3,346 |
3,762 |
248 |
7,356 |
||
Holliston
More » |
4,261 |
5,071 |
335 |
9,667 |
||
Hopkinton
More » |
4,752 |
5,273 |
329 |
10,354 |
||
Hudson
More » |
4,806 |
6,328 |
519 |
11,653 |
||
Lexington
More » |
11,963 |
7,274 |
931 |
20,168 |
||
Lincoln
More » |
2,668 |
1,431 |
201 |
4,300 |
||
Littleton
More » |
3,165 |
3,327 |
230 |
6,722 |
||
Lowell
More » |
18,307 |
17,777 |
2,898 |
38,982 |
||
Malden
More » |
11,652 |
9,597 |
4,508 |
25,757 |
||
Marlborough
More » |
8,024 |
10,271 |
998 |
19,293 |
||
Maynard
More » |
3,598 |
2,966 |
239 |
6,803 |
||
Medford
More » |
16,871 |
13,442 |
1,764 |
32,077 |
||
Melrose
More » |
8,507 |
8,806 |
1,025 |
18,338 |
||
Natick
More » |
10,745 |
10,166 |
1,031 |
21,942 |
||
Newton
More » |
30,415 |
17,445 |
2,711 |
50,571 |
||
N. Reading
More » |
3,302 |
5,937 |
768 |
10,007 |
||
Pepperell
More » |
2,582 |
4,546 |
224 |
7,352 |
||
Reading
More » |
6,958 |
9,148 |
1,023 |
17,129 |
||
Sherborn |
1,501 |
1,355 |
135 |
2,991 |
||
Shirley |
1,475 |
2,118 |
124 |
3,717 |
||
Somerville
More » |
30,763 |
9,776 |
1,840 |
42,379 |
||
Stoneham
More » |
5,248 |
8,129 |
1,059 |
14,436 |
||
Stow
More » |
2,679 |
2,188 |
130 |
4,997 |
||
Sudbury
More » |
6,270 |
5,796 |
421 |
12,487 |
||
Tewksbury
More » |
6,178 |
12,420 |
645 |
19,243 |
||
Townsend
More » |
1,658 |
3,623 |
214 |
5,495 |
||
Tyngsborough
More » |
2,752 |
4,424 |
428 |
7,604 |
||
Wakefield
More » |
6,193 |
9,350 |
1,166 |
16,709 |
||
Waltham
More » |
13,997 |
13,124 |
1,954 |
29,075 |
||
Watertown
More » |
11,104 |
7,259 |
955 |
19,318 |
||
Wayland
More » |
4,962 |
4,008 |
420 |
9,390 |
||
Westford
More » |
7,208 |
7,666 |
509 |
15,383 |
||
Weston
More » |
3,542 |
3,215 |
383 |
7,140 |
||
Wilmington
More » |
5,165 |
8,974 |
777 |
14,916 |
||
Winchester
More » |
6,690 |
6,427 |
855 |
13,972 |
||
Woburn
More » |
8,274 |
12,492 |
1,845 |
22,611 |
||
County Totals | 431,940 |
387,543 |
49,864 | 869,347 |