MA Secretary of State William Galvin Confirms Ranked Choice Voting Initiative For Fall ballot
For Immediate Release:
July 13, 2020
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Boston, Mass. – Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020 has declared victory in its effort to bring Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to the ballot in Massachusetts. Secretary of State William Galvin informed the campaign late Friday night that our signature submission has been validated and approved for inclusion on the Mass November ballot. The historic and record-breaking signature drive included 128,780 validated signatures from citizens in every single municipality in the Commonwealth.
“Our volunteers had a tall order collecting these signatures, especially in the second round, which fell right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brian Bass, Organizing Director for the campaign’s 2019 and 2020 signature drives. “Not only did our volunteers come through in the clutch, but countless others have worked to bring this much-needed reform to our Commonwealth for years, laying the groundwork for this historic accomplishment.”
“Inclusion on the ballot has been our goal for over a year now, and our volunteers and partners came through when it mattered most to ensure this achievement,” said Shauna Hamilton, Deputy Campaign Manager. “Now we turn our attention to educating Massachusetts voters about the virtues of RCV, namely that if they vote ‘yes’ in November to implement ranked-choice voting for our elections, they will no longer feel like they are wasting their vote and they will elect leaders who represent the interests of the communities they serve.”
“The record number of signatories on this ballot initiative collected shows the common-sense in a ranked-choice system and supported the cause, and it’s our belief that Mass voters at large will realize those same benefits by the time they head to the ballot box,” said Michael Meehan, a senior advisor to the campaign. “This is a simple, fair and effective way to address so many of the political ills that we all complain about at the dinner table. Candidates shouldn’t take office without majority support or use divisive emotional issues to drum up fringe support, and RCV will enhance America’s cherished tradition of majority rule.” Meehan added, “We are so grateful to Secretary Galvin for his swift review of our signatures and we look forward to ramping up this campaign now that we’re one step away from this critical reform.”
To protect both voters and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Judicial Court on April 29, 2020 issued an Order allowing for e-signatures during the second set of required ballot initiative signature collection. Since then, volunteers for the ranked choice voting campaign have collected e-signatures through a DocuSign online program, working with Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin and local town clerks.
“Never in the history of this country has an electronic signature drive put a citizen’s initiative on the ballot and without the quick and fair action of the Courts and Secretary Galvin in the face of a pandemic we may not be celebrating this success,” said Cara Brown McCormick, the campaign’s leader. “Based on the enthusiasm of volunteers and voters during the signature portion of this effort, I’m confident that Massachusetts voters will see the benefits of the RCV system in leveling the playing field for candidates and giving more voice, more choice, more power and more freedom to voters.”
Contact: Charlie@sqcomms.com, 617-894-6905
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About Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020:
Made up of tens of thousands of citizens across the state, Voter Choice for Massachusetts is a non-partisan campaign of Democrats, Republicans and Independents working together to place a question on the 2020 ballot to bring Ranked Choice Voting to Massachusetts elections starting in 2022.