By John Plue

The Massachusetts ballot for 2018 includes three ballot questions, and the positions of Senator in Congress, Governor and Lieutenant Governor,
Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Auditor. Eligible Massachusetts voters can register online, by mail, or in-person. Registration
must be updated every time a person moves, however, it is possible to vote from a previous address up to six months after having moved, so
long as the person in question has not registered elsewhere. Students are able to register to vote with their campus address.

The Issues

Question 1

focuses on State mandated ratios between nurses and patients. The question states: “In units with step-down/intermediate care patients: 3 patients
per nurse…in the emergency service department: 1 critical or intensive care patient per nurse (or 2 if the nurse has assessed each patients condition
as stable); 2 urgent non-stable patients per nurse; 3 urgent stable patients per nurse; or 5 non-urgent stable patients per nurse…in units with
psychiatric or rehabilitation patients: 5 patients per nurse” as explained by sec.state.ma.us. These are only a few of the restrictions that would be
applied to nurses if the question passes. According to ballotpedia.org “The enforcement of the measure would be suspended during a public health
emergency as declared by the state or federal government.” A vote yes would enforce the State-mandated ratios.

Question 2

concerns creating “an advisory commission for amendments to the U.S. Constitution” explained by ballotpedia.org which would limit the influence of money
on elections and to make sure “that corporations do not have the same rights as human beings” according to sec.state.ma.us. According to ballotpeidia.org
“The commission would create a report on the following: political and election spending in Massachusetts; the legal ability of the state government to regulate
corporations; and proposals for federal constitutional amendments and actions recommended for advancing the proposed amendments.” A yes vote
would create a citizens commission to advance an amendment to the United States Constitution to limit the influence of money in elections and establish
that corporations do not have the same rights as human beings.

Question 3

is for a repeal of a Massachusetts law that was passed in 2016. The law “adds
gender identity to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in places
of the public accommodation, resort, or amusement.” This means that it is
currently against the law for companies to discriminate against someone
for their gender identity. A vote for yes would keep this law in effect.

The Candidates

Democrats

* Elizabeth Warren is running for State Senate.
* Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie are running for Governor.
* Quentin Palfrey and Jimmy Tingle are running for Lieutenant
Governor.
* Maura Healey is running for Attorney General.
* William Galvin and Josh Zakim are running for Secretary
of State.
* Deborah Goldberg is running for Treasurer.
* Suzanne Bump is running for Auditor.

Republicans

* Geoff Diehl, John Kingston, and Beth Lindstrom are running
for Senator.
* Charlie Baker and Scott Lively are running for Governor.
* Karyn Polito is running for Lieutenant Governor.
* James McMahon and Daniel Shores are running for Attorney
General.
* Anthony Amore is running for Secretary of State.
* Keiko Orrall is running for Treasurer.
* Helen Brady is running for Auditor.

To learn more about who is running you can find the full list of candidates at
sec.state.ma.us. To learn more about each candidate go to their campaign websites.

The deadline to register to vote is October 17th.