Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Massachusetts Question 4, Term Limits for State Executive, Legislative, and Congressional Offices Initiative (1994)
| Massachusetts Question 4 | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Election date |
|
| Topic Congressional term limits and Executive official term limits |
|
| Status |
|
| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 4 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 8, 1994. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported this ballot initiative to establish term limits for state executive officers (two terms), state legislators (four terms), U.S. senators (two terms), and U.S. representatives (four terms). |
A “no” vote opposed this ballot initiative to establish term limits for state executive officers (two terms), state legislators (four terms), U.S. senators (two terms), and U.S. representatives (four terms). |
Election results
|
Massachusetts Question 4 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
1,047,927 | 51.56% | ||
| No | 984,571 | 48.44% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 4 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 4, 1994? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
This proposed law would prevent the name of a person from being printed on a state primary or general election ballot as a candidate for one of a number of specified state and federal public offices, if the person had already served a certain number of consecutive terms in that office within a fixed period preceding the end of the then-current term of office. If such a person were still elected by write-in vote to one of the state offices (except the office of Governor), the person would serve without a salary, and in some of the state offices, without payment for certain expenses. Under the proposed law, the name of a person could not be printed on a primary or general election ballot as a candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, or State Attorney General, if the person had served two consecutive terms (eight years) in that office in the eleven years prior to the end of the then-current term of office. The name of a person could not be printed on a primary or general election ballot as a candidate for the office of Governor's Councillor, State Representative, State Senator, or United States Representative from Massachusetts, if the person had served four consecutive terms (eight years) in that office in the nine years prior to the end of the then-current term of office. The name of a person could not be printed on a primary or general election ballot as a candidate for the office of United States Senator from Massachusetts, if the person had served two consecutive terms (twelve years) in that office in the seventeen years prior to the end of the then-current term of office. The proposed law would not prevent any voter from casting a write-in vote for any person as a candidate for any office. If a person made ineligible by the proposed law to have his or her name printed on the ballot as a candidate for the office of Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, State Attorney General, Governor's Councillor, State Representative or State Senator were still elected to that office by write-in vote, the person would serve without a salary. If such a person were elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor, Governor's Councillor, State Representative or State Senator, the person would also serve without payment for certain expenses. The current terms of the persons serving as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Governor's Councillor, State Representative, State Senator, United States Representative from Massachusetts, and United States Senator from Massachusetts, would not be counted for purposes of the proposed law. The terms of the persons elected in 1990 to the office of Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, or State Attorney General would be counted. Any person who served for more than half of a term in an office would be treated as having served a full term in that office. Any person who resigned from an office would be treated as having served a full term. The proposed law states that if any of its provisions were found invalid, the other provisions would remain in effect. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
See also
External links
Footnotes
 |
State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
