Be Informed: Voting 101
By Kiara Palomares
Staff Writer
Voters are heading to the polls as the November 6th elections soon approach us. The ballot will comprise of positions such as U.S. Senator; U.S. House of Representative; local government positions such as governor and state secretary; state representative and state senator. The ballot will also include three question. Let’s get into details of what the Massachusetts ballot.
For U.S. Senators running in Massachusetts, we have incumbent Elizabeth Warran, Geoff Diehl, and Shiva Ayyadurai. Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Democrat Party, is returning in the hopes to serve her second six-year term. She has been an active agent in the fields of Health Care and Armed Forces. Geoff Diehl, a member of the Republican Party, co-chaired on Donald Trump’s campaign. Geoff Diehl upholds the typical Republican values such as strong anti-immigrant sentiments, and even fiercer sentiments concerning the preservation of the second amendment. Finally, our Independent candidate, Shiva Ayyadurai believes in implementing environmental policies for cleaner air; he also stands with Geoff Diehl in defending the second amendment.
Voters will have two options for governor: Republican candidate Charlie Baker and lieutenant governor Karyn Polito and Democratic candidates Jay Gonzalez and Quentin Palfrey. Baker and Polito are both second-year runners. For attorney general, the Democratic party has incumbent Maura Healey, and the Republican party has James R. McMahon. For secretary of state, the runners are William Galvin (incumbent), Anthony Amore, and Juan Sanchez.
If you have no idea who’s running for Representative in your district, you can visit ballotpedia.org, and it will give you the names of the runners.
The first question on the ballot entails passing a law that would limit the number of patients given to a nurse at one time. The second question is about campaign finance which would limit the influence of money on a campaign, to essentially establish that cooperations are not entitled to the same rights as individuals. Finally, the last question would assure that individuals are protected against gender discrimination in public areas such as restaurants and hospitals.
If you’re not available to vote at your designated poll, you can request an absentee ballot which allows you to vote through mail.
Visit https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot-deadlines/ to figure out when you should request yours.
Kiara Palomares is a Staff Writer for The Comment.
