2024 Ballot Questions

WBUR's explainers on the issues Massachusetts residents can vote on during this fall's election season.

Support for MCAS ballot question has a 'bare majority' in new WBUR poll

The question is centered around the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, and whether passing the Grade 10 MCAS exams in math, English and science should be a condition to graduate.

Education

03:28Sep 24, 2024

An election mail ballot. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Poll: Mass. voters split on psychedelics, tipped wages, but support auditing the Legislature

Massachusetts voters are juggling a lot of questions on this year's ballot. And if a new WBUR poll is any indicator, things are still very much up in the air.

Local Coverage

05:18Sep 24, 2024

The Massachusetts State House. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Auditor authority: How Question 1 seeks to allow state audits of Mass. Legislature

Supporters of the proposed audits say they would boost transparency, while opponents argue the audits would be an intrusion by the executive branch onto the legislative branch of government.

Local Coverage

Sep 20, 2024

A sample MCAS question on the state's education website. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

MCAS: The debate over Question 2, an effort to drop the high school 'exit exam'

Massachusetts public school students must pass standardized tests in order to graduate high school. Question 2 in the 2024 election asks voters to end or keep that requirement.

Education

Sep 20, 2024

A ride share car displays Lyft and Uber stickers on its front windshield in downtown Los Angeles. (Richard Vogel/AP)

Ride-hailing unions: How Question 3 aims to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize

Question 3 asks voters to decide if drivers for Uber and Lyft can form unions to collectively bargain with the app companies for wages, benefits and work conditions. If the...

Business

Sep 20, 2024

Psilocybin mushrooms in a grow room in central Netherlands. (Peter Dejong/AP)

Psychedelics: How Question 4 could legalize the drugs for therapeutic use in Mass.

The proposed law would create a regulatory framework for psychedelics' therapeutic use in Massachusetts. But like cannabis, substances like psilocybin and mescaline would remain illegal at the federal level.

Health

Sep 20, 2024

A waiter reaches for plates at a restaurant. (Eric Risberg/AP)

Tipped wages: How Question 5 seeks to lift minimum wage for tipped workers

The general minimum wage is $15 an hour under state law, but it's $6.75 for tipped workers. Question 5 seeks to gradually raise the tipped minimum wage to match the...

Local Coverage

Sep 20, 2024