Massachusetts 2010 ballot measures

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Three statewide questions were on the November 2, 2010 ballot in the state of Massachusetts.

Initiative process

• The deadline to submit ballot language for the November 2010 ballot in Massachusetts was August 5, 2009.

• Thirty proposed initiatives were filed by that deadline. As of April 2010, thirty ballot initiatives had so far been filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

• Supporters must have collected a minimum of 66,593 valid signatures from registered voters by December 2, 2009; except for veto referenda, where they must have collected 33,297 signatures. The approved measures were then reviewed by the Legislature.

• If the Massachusetts Legislature did not approve of the initiative by the May 4, 2010 deadline, petition organizers must have then obtained signatures from about 1/2 of 1% of voters who voted in the last governor election and must have submitted them to local clerks by June 23, 2010.

• All four initiatives filed signatures by the June 23, 2010 deadline. Clerks had until the July 2, 2010 deadline to validate those signatures. Validated signatures were then turned in by all four initiative sponsors by July 7, 2010 to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office.

• One of those four initiatives who submitted signatures pulled their measure off of the ballot on July 7, 2010.

On the ballot

November 2:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
IndISS	Question 1	Taxes	Sales tax eliminated for alcohol sales in the state	a
IndISS	Question 2	Housing	Repeal a housing law	d
IndISS	Question 3	Taxes	Roll 6.25% sales tax back to 3%	d

Failed to make ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

The following measures were not on the ballot:

Type	Title	Subject	Description
	Right of Self-Government Initiative	Admin of gov't	Allow people to vote to delegate their powers to legislative body
	Whale Safe Commercial Fishing	Animals	Ban drift nets or other gear that can harm endangered whales, sea turtles.
	Biodiversity Initiative	Environment	No commercial harvesting on forested land owned by the state
	Secret Ballot Amendment	Admin of gov't	Implement procedures for the House of Representatives and Senate
	Instant Run-Off Voting Initiative	Elections	Voters to rank preferences among candidates
	Health Insurance Amendment	Health care	State government pays for health insurance for all residents
	Expand Charter School Options	Education	Remove limits on number of charter schools, their funding, and enrollment.
	Limit Carbon Dioxide Emissions	Environment	Biomass renewable energy sources to emit at most 250 pounds of CO2

Local ballot measures

January 19 •March 6 • April 6 •April 13 • April 17 • April 24

See also

• 2010 ballot measures
• Massachusetts signature requirements
• Laws governing the initiative process in Massachusetts
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Massachusetts

External links

• Current Massachusetts petitions from the Massachusetts Attorney General