MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS on Tuesday decided not to adopt a ranked-choice voting system, a massive defeat for a nearly $10 million campaign that drew little organized opposition. “Voters like a fair […]
Elections
Posted inPolitics
Cronin declares victory; Sen. Tran not conceding
DEMOCRAT JOHN CRONIN was clinging to a tiny lead over Republican Sen. Dean Tran of Fitchburg early Wednesday morning, but Cronin said the trendlines were enough for him to declare […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker, McDermott fight to retain control of sheriff’s post
Two years ago, days after she stepped down in late 2018 as chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Kirsten Hughes landed on her feet at the Norfolk County sheriff’s office. […]
Posted inThe Download
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting may be here to stay
BECAUSE OF THE coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time this year as well as expanded early voting – and millions of voters took advantage. By […]
Posted inOpinion
Election highlights our collective responsibility
THIS ELECTION is unprecedented in many ways: our country is still in the grips of a pandemic; millions of Americans are voting early and by mail for the first time; […]
Posted inOpinion
Voter expression is cause for optimism
MY OLD FRIEND and congressional colleague John S. McCain liked to joke that “it’s always darkest before it’s totally black” – wryly revising notions about it being darkest just before […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote for climate and democracy
CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY are on the ballot this fall for hundreds of thousands of voters across the Commonwealth. Voters in all or part of 44 communities (a complete list is […]
Posted inPolitics
Enviro groups split on state Senate battle
TWO OF THE STATE’S leading environmental groups are split on which candidate is the best to represent the Plymouth and Norfolk Senate district, which includes six coastal communities dealing with […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker calls ranked-choice voting too complicated
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he opposes ranked-choice voting because it’s too complicated for both voters and election officials to carry out. The governor said voting is already complicated […]
Posted inOpinion
No excuses, find a way to vote this year
FOR THE LAST three-and-a-half years, we’ve heard the same question over and over: “What happened in 2016?“  The fact is, we know what happened. More than 100 million votes that […]
Posted inPolitics
It’s COVID-19 crunch time
THE SAME DAY President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden debated for a final time, the US set a record for the number of daily new coronavirus cases — […]
Posted inPolitics
Getting out the prisoner vote
EVEN THOUGH they’re locked up during a pandemic, it’s starting to look like the roughly 6,800 prisoners across the state who are eligible to vote will have a better chance […]
Posted inOpinion
If Barrett is confirmed, we’re for packing the court
WHY ARE REPUBLICANS so desperate to ram through a Supreme Court nomination that will impact Americans’ lives for decades? They’re scared that come November 3 they will lose. That despite […]
Posted inOpinion
Ex-reporter transitions to political partisan
A YEAR AGO, I was a nonpartisan political reporter in Massachusetts, happy to give people from either side of the spectrum due credit or due comeuppance. No longer. Now I […]
Posted inOpinion
A refreshing non-party-line vote
I AM NOT one for hyperbole, but this is the most contentious election year that I have seen. Republicans versus Democrats. Ideologues on both sides trying to outdo each other […]
Posted inThe Download
Toppling Baker top of mind for Dems
The Democratic Party in Massachusetts is riding high. Heading into the election just two weeks away, party members control the entire congressional delegation, are looking to add to their dominance […]
Posted inPolitics
Toppling Baker top of mind for Dems
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY in Massachusetts is riding high. Heading into the election just two weeks away, party members control the entire congressional delegation, are looking to add to their dominance […]
Posted inThe Download
The two sides of ranked-choice voting
Massachusetts voters will decide on the November ballot whether to overhaul the state’s system of voting by switching to ranked-choice voting for most non-presidential elections. Under ranked-choice voting, as envisioned […]
Posted inPolitics
The two sides of ranked-choice voting
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS will decide on the November ballot whether to overhaul the state’s system of voting by switching to ranked-choice voting for most non-presidential elections. Under ranked-choice voting, as envisioned […]
Posted inOpinion
Nursing home residents need more help voting
NEARLY 40,000 citizens in nursing homes across Massachusetts have endured months of harrowing conditions under COVID-19, watching as friends and caregivers succumb, victims of the largest concentration of deaths in […]
Posted inOpinion
Ed Markey’s reckless support for court packing
SINCE THE SAD PASSING of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, headlines have been dominated by Judge Amy Coney Barrett and her nomination to the Supreme Court. I have said publicly that […]
Posted inPolitics
Tran, Cronin trade salvos over experience, ethics
SEN. DEAN TRAN of Fitchburg said at a Thursday night debate that he deserves to be reelected because of his experience and accomplishments on Beacon Hill even though his reputation […]
Posted inOpinion
Researcher: Question 1 wrong way to go
FOR 11 YEARS, my research at MIT focused on connected vehicles. I started two small companies centered on connected vehicles, one of which won the 2014 MassChallenge/MassIT Government Innovation Competition. […]