Massachusetts Question 4, Enforcement of Federal Prohibition Referendum (1922)
| Massachusetts Question 4 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Alcohol laws |
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| Status |
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| Type Veto referendum |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 4 was on the ballot as a veto referendum in Massachusetts on November 7, 1922. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported enacting laws for the enforcement of federal prohibition. |
A “no” vote opposed enacting laws for the enforcement of federal prohibition. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 4 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 323,964 | 43.09% | ||
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427,840 | 56.91% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 4 was as follows:
| “ | Shall a law (Chapter 427 of the Acts of 1922) enacted to enforce in Massachusetts the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which provides that except as authorized by the act, the manufacture, sale, barter, transportation, importation, exportation, delivery, furnishing or possessing of any intoxicating liquor, as defined in the act, shall be a criminal offence and be punished in the manner prescribed by the act, which law was passed in the House of Representatives by a majority of 134 in the affirmative to 68 in the negative, and in the Senate by a majority of 28 in the affirmative to 9 in the negative, and was approved by His Excellency the Governor, be approved? | ” |
Path to the ballot
Before 1952, citizen-initiated ballot measures in Massachusetts required a fixed number of signatures. In 1950, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing this to a percentage-based system, tying the number of required signatures to ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Before 1952, the signature requirement for veto referendums was 15,000 for general legislation and 10,000 for emergency legislation.
See also
External links
- William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Statewide Ballot Measures: 1919-Present"
- The Berkshire Evening Eagle, "Specimen Ballot For State Election Tuesday, November 7 ," October 28, 1922
Footnotes
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