Attorney General Andrea Campbell was generous in certifying dozens of ballot initiatives, the first step for them to go before voters in the 2024 and 2026 cycle, but she used a sharper pen when it came to several measures that could have revamped voting and election rules.

Efforts to put versions of ranked choice voting on the ballot got the certification axe from the AG, largely because a similar measure was put before voters in the 2020 statewide election. The attorney general’s certification process is designed to check the constitutional appropriateness of any ballot measure, and the questions are not allowed to be substantially similar to any ballot initiative in the past two election cycles. 

John Griffin, managing partner of strategy at Partners in Democracy, a nonprofit founded by Harvard professor Danielle Allen, filed a package of five measures with the attorney general’s office, only one of which was certified – proposing “An Act Expanding Opportunities for Voter Registration.”

That initiative would allow same-day voter registration at polling locations and allow in-person and mail-in registration by the Friday before election day. Voters who show up to register on election day would need proof of legal residency on the day, but could be allowed to cast a provisional ballot that would only be counted if identification were provided within the week.

Campbell’s office also approved two versions of a voter identification ballot initiative, which would require any prospective voter to show photo identification before being given a ballot on election day.  

Same day registration and voter ID laws have become flashpoints in debates about electoral reform, with efforts to enact same day registration withering on Beacon Hill despite the backing of advocates, progressive lawmakers, and Secretary of State Bill Galvin. Requiring voter identification, meanwhile, is touted by backers as a way to make elections more secure, but progressives argue that the practice deliberately raises barriers for non-white voters.

The attorney general was not so permissive with various initiatives that would have implemented ranked choice voting – in which voters rank their preferred candidates and have their votes counted in successive rounds until a candidate with majority support comes out on top – or a “top five preliminary.” The top five system would do away with partisan primaries and let voters pick their favored candidates for certain offices, regardless of political party, with up to five candidates with the highest number of votes moving on to a general election ballot.

These ranked choice changes, Campbell’s office said, are essentially the same as the ranked choice ballot measure narrowly defeated in 2020 and therefore cannot be placed on a ballot within two voting cycles. 

The assortment of ballot initiatives Griffin filed included versions bundling several voting changes. All that included a ranked choice or “instant runoff” model were struck by the AG because of the prior ranked choice ballot measure. Campbell also dinged the bundled initiatives for violating the “related or…mutually dependent” rule, which is designed to prevent voters from having to decide multiple different questions in one ballot measure.

A final measure, which would have prohibited “foreign-influenced business entities” from making certain contributions and expenditures, was also denied certification. The proposal, the attorney general wrote, would likely conflict with political speech protections guaranteed to individuals and corporations under federal and state law. 

Voters in 2026 may have the chance for a do-over on a decades-old constitutional amendment barring incarcerated felons from voting in certain races. In 2000, Massachusetts residents voted 60 to 34 percent in favor of amending the state Constitution to prohibit people incarcerated for felonies in state prison from voting for state constitutional offices – like governor or attorney general – or for US senators or representatives. An initiative petition to overturn that amendment got the go-ahead from the attorney general’s office on Wednesday.

The measure to abolish that amendment was filed by Katie Talbot, lead organizer with Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts, a social justice organization working with The No Longer 3/5ths Coalition to restore voting rights for those in prison. They are adamantly against “no representation for incarcerated people,” the group says on its website. 

JENNIFER SMITH

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Ballot questions clear first hurdle: Attorney General Andrea Campbell cleared the way for a large number of ballot questions to set out on the long road to get in front of voters in 2024 and 2026. Campbell certified as constitutional questions doing away with the MCAS graduation requirement, establishing local option rent control, decriminalizing psychedelics, classifying app-based drivers as independent contractors, allowing the drivers to unionize, and permitting the state auditor to audit the Legislature.

– Campbell approved 31 proposed laws and three proposed constitutional amendments. Many of the measures have multiple versions, so the actual number of distinct issues being pursued is about 15.

– To make it to the ballot, sponsors of the questions would have to gather nearly 75,000 signatures by November 22 and survive expected legal challenges from opponents. Read more.

OPINION

Falling short on reading: With third graders falling short of early literacy benchmarks, Mary Tamer of Democrats for Education Reform Massachusetts calls for passage of a law that would implement changes in the way reading is taught. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says the state needs to come up with $800 million in matching funds in order to maximize the potential for federal funding in a wave of pandemic-related federal laws. (Boston Globe)

Healey administration officials are holding a closed-door briefing for House members today on the migrant crisis that has seen thousands of people arrive in Massachusetts in need of shelter in recent months. (Boston Herald)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu denies fairly thinly sourced speculation that she may be considering resigning for a job at Harvard. (Boston Herald) 

The Saugus town manager says the city’s schools are facing strain from an influx of migrants being sheltered in motels along Route 1, but he had few details. (Daily Item)

Methuen animal welfare officials are trying to find homes for 250 mice retrieved from a single home. (Eagle-Tribune)

Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle says she won’t seek reelection when her term ends in 2025. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

A study based on medical records of Planned Parenthood indicates 155 women came to Massachusetts for abortions in the four months immediately following the June 2022 Supreme Court decision allowing states to ban or limit abortions, a roughly one third increase compared to the same period a year earlier. (WBUR)

ELECTIONS

The Boston Herald endorses William King in the closely watched district city council race in which embattled incumbent Kendra Lara faces two challengers. 

Boston preliminaries are hurtling closer, with several closely-watched races and bulked up SuperPAC spending. (Dorchester Reporter)

EDUCATION

Endicott College in Beverly unveils a new $20 million nursing and health science building. (Salem News)

The Southern Berkshire Regional School District is working with a nonprofit to reimagine what services schools provide. (Berkshire Eagle)

ARTS/CULTURE

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts says it is investigating whether two bronze pieces in its collection could have been looted from Turkey in the 1960s. The move follows a decision of the Worcester Art Museum to return a bronze in its collection. (GBH)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

The Salem City Council seems supportive of a plan to give a $53 million tax break to Crowley Wind Services to help the company launch a wind farm assembly operation on the harbor front. (Salem News)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

Vague language in police oversight data obscures several serious allegations, including an officer who participated in the 2017 a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. (MassLive)

MEDIA

The Boston Globe is expanding its regional coverage, with a special focus on Cambridge and Somerville. (Media Nation)