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Massachusetts Question 2, Reduce Size of House and Change Redistricting Process Amendment (1974)
| Massachusetts Question 2 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Census policy and Redistricting policy |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Massachusetts on November 5, 1974. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported this constitutional amendment to:
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A “no” vote opposed reducing the number of state representatives and changing the process for drawing legislative and councillor districts based on a new state census and revised redistricting criteria. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 2 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,128,315 | 78.89% | ||
| No | 302,008 | 21.11% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 2 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of the adoption of an amendment to the constitution summarized below which was approved by the General Court in a joint session of the two branches held August 25, 1971, received 177 votes in the affirmative and 65 in the negative, and in a joint session of the two branches held June 6, 1973 received 166 votes in the affirmative and 93 in the negative? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
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The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved, would provide for a census in the year 1975 and every tenth year thereafter of the inhabitants of each citv and town as a basis for determining the representative, senatorial and councillor districts for the ten year period beginning with the first Wednesday in the fourth January following the taking of the census, provided that the districts as established hased on the 1971 census shall terminate on the first Wednesday in January, 1979. The census shall specify the number of inhabitants residing in each precinct of a town and each precinct and ward of a city. Under the proposed amendment, the House of Representatives would consist of 160 members, in contrast to the present membership of 240, and the Senate of 40 members. The General Court would, at its first regular session after the year in which the census is taken, divide the Commonwealth into 160 representative districts and 40 senatorial districts of contiguous territory so that each representative and each senator will represent an equal number of inhabitants as nearK as may be; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties 'or parts of two or more counties and,with respect to representative districts, without uniting, as nearly as may be, two towns or parts of two or more towns, two cities or parts of two or more cities, or a city and a town, or parts of cities and towns, into one district, and without dividing any town containing less than 2500 inhabitants. The General Court would be permitted to pass laws to limit the time within which judicial proceeding may be instituted calling in question any such division. The proposed amendment further provides that every representative, for one vear at least immediately preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen, and every senator shall be an inhabitant of this Commonwealth for five years at least preceding his election and at the time of his election shall be an inhabitant ol the district for which he is chosen. Every representative and senator shall cease to represent his district when he shall cease to he an inhabitant of the Commonwealth. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for representatives and for senators and councillors, and of ascertaining their election shall he prescrihed by law. The amendment vests original jurisdiction in the Supreme Judicial Court, upon petition of anv voter of the Commonwealth, filed with the clerk of said court, for judicial relief relative to the establishment of House of Representatives, councillor and senatorial districts. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Massachusetts Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during two successive joint legislative sessions for the Massachusetts State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the joint session of the state legislature, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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