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Massachusetts Question 3, Require State Approval of Motion Picture Films Before Public Exhibition Referendum (1922)
| Massachusetts Question 3 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Business regulations |
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| Status |
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| Type Veto referendum |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 3 was on the ballot as a veto referendum in Massachusetts on November 7, 1922. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported requiring all motion picture films to be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety before public exhibition, allowing disapproval of films deemed obscene, immoral, or harmful to public morals. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring all motion picture films to be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety before public exhibition, allowing disapproval of films deemed obscene, immoral, or harmful to public morals. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 208,252 | 27.35% | ||
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553,173 | 72.65% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 3 was as follows:
| “ | Shall a law (Chapter 438 of the Acts of 1921) which provides that it shall be unlawful for any person to exhibit or display publicly in this Commonwealth any motion picture film unless such film has been submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety, who may, subject to the appeal given by the act, disapprove any film or part thereof which is obscene, indecent, immoral, inhuman or tends to debase or corrupt morals or incite to crime, and may, subject to the approval of the Governor and Council, make rules and regulations for the enforcement of the act, which law was passed in the House of Representatives by a majority not recorded, and in the Senate by 21 votes in the affirmative to 16 votes 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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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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