Wareham posts sample ballot for the Nov. 3 state election

WAREHAM The town of Wareham has posted the official specimen ballot for the state election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The sample ballot, posted on the town website Oct. 19, lets residents preview the candidates and questions they will see. It appears as Card 1 of 2 and Card 2 of 2, with the number 489 on each card.

The ballot tells voters to fill in the oval to the right of a candidate's name. To vote for a person not on the ballot, a voter writes the person's name and residence in the blank space provided and fills in the oval.

For senator in Congress, the ballot lists Edward J. Markey, John Deaton, Shiva Ayyadurai and Joe Tache. For governor and lieutenant governor, the pairs are Healey and Driscoll, Minogue and Oliver, and James and Kittredge. Andrea Joy Campbell and Michael C. Walsh are the candidates for attorney general, William Francis Galvin and Anne R. Brensley for secretary of state, Deborah B. Goldberg and Elizabeth Dionne for treasurer, and Diana Dizoglio and Al Ozonoff for auditor.

Bill Keating and R. Tyler Macallister are listed for representative in Congress in the Ninth District. Joseph C. Ferreira is listed for councillor in the First District, Kelly A. Dooner for senator in the General Court in the Third Bristol and Plymouth District, and John Robert Gaskey and Sarah G. Hewins for representative in the General Court in the Second Plymouth District.

Timothy J. Cruz is listed for district attorney, Matthew Joseph McDonough for register of probate, Thomas J. O'Brien for county treasurer, and Rhonda L. Nyman and Anthony Thomas O'Brien, Sr. for county commissioner. The ballot also lists candidates for the Upper Cape regional school committee, including Dominic A. Cammarano Jr. for the Wareham seat.

Card 1 also carries Question 1, a law proposed by initiative petition that would make most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. It would exempt documents related to the development of public policy and communications between legislators and their constituents, when those communications are reasonably related to a constituent's request for help obtaining government-provided benefits or services or interacting with a government agency. A yes vote would make the change; a no vote would leave the law unchanged.

Question 2 would permit employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services to engage in collective bargaining with their employer and would require the committee, after executing an agreement, to request the appropriation needed to fund it from the governor. A yes vote would allow the bargaining; a no vote would make no change.

Question 3 would eliminate political party primaries for state elections and create a single all-party primary, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election. Question 4 would allow eligible individuals to register to vote or update their registration address on Election Day at their polling place, with proof of residency and a written oath.

Question 5 would limit how much revenue the state can collect in a year to the prior year's collections plus the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years, refunding any excess to taxpayers the following year. Question 6 would establish a Nature for All Fund, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to receive state taxes from sales of sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses for natural resource conservation.

Question 7 would allow single-family homes to be built in residentially zoned areas on lots of at least 5,000 square feet with street frontage and public sewer and water access. Question 8 would repeal the laws that legalized retail sales of recreational marijuana while keeping possession of one ounce or less legal for adults 21 and older.

Question 9 is a referendum on a 2024 firearms law. A yes vote would keep in place the law, which increases the regulation of firearms, including ghost guns, machine guns and assault-style weapons. A no vote would repeal it.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The town's posted notice directs residents to the Wareham government website to view the full sample ballot.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.