The attorney general’s office has the list on the two dozen or so ballot questions that have been “certified” (that is, supporters can now start to collect signatures for them) for the 2010 election, as well as the five that have been extinguished. (One apparently tried to solve the home mortgage crisis by doing an end run around both the banks and the courts.)
Among the proposals getting an “all clear” signal is one for IRV (instant runoff voting) elections in Massachusetts. As I noted yesterday on Beyond Red & Blue, voters for the Oscar awards will be switching to this kind of system next year. Is this all part of the push to turn Massachusetts into Hollywood East?
According to the State House News Service (subscription required), powerful anti-tax activist Barbara Anderson supports the IRV proposal, which may help counter its image as a “looney left” idea. (IRV has been adopted in mostly liberal strongholds such as San Francisco and Burlington, Vermont.) However, SHNS also reports that Anderson is not likely to put a lot of energy into referendum battles next year:
āIām focused on removing incumbents who voted for tax increases,ā she said.