State House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka are considering the possibility of changing or repealing two popular ballot questions in Massachusetts even after voters have their say. The two questions in question involve scrapping the MCAS exam as a high school graduation requirement and giving state Auditor DiZoglio the right to audit her former colleagues in the legislature.
Mariano expressed reservations about making laws through ballot initiatives, citing issues with the marijuana regulation. Spilka also indicated that they would wait and see how the votes turn out before deciding on any potential changes to the ballot questions.
The Massachusetts Teachers Union, which is behind the repeal effort of the MCAS exam, criticized the lawmakers for potentially going against the will of the voters. However, a poll showed that a majority of respondents supported both the audit question and dropping the MCAS exam requirement.
Supporters and opponents of all five ballot questions are actively campaigning and raising funds to influence public opinion. Supporters of the auditing question have raised $428,830, while those supporting the repeal of the MCAS exam have raised a significant $9.6 million compared to $2.1 million by opponents.
The decisions of the Democratic leaders on these ballot questions are drawing attention and debate as the election season progresses. Voters in Massachusetts will have to wait to see the outcome and potential changes to these popular fall ballot questions.
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