Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Massachusetts ballot measures, 2012

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Massachusetts ballot measures, 2012

Three citizen-initiated measures were voted upon in the 2012 Massachusetts general election: a Right to Repair initiave, a proposal to allow physician-assisted suicide, and a measure to legalize medical marijuana. The Right to Repair initiative, which was to require open access to vehicle diagnostic and repair information, passed overwhelmingly, with 86% support. The measure to allow physician-assisted suicide failed by a narrow margin, with 51% opposed. The proposal to legalize medical marijuana passed with 63% of voter support.

The Massachusetts Constitution can be amended through initiative and state statutes can be proposed through initiative. All three statewide ballot measures that were on the November 2012 ballot by collecting signatures are proposed statutes (not constitutional amendments).

In Massachusetts, after the state determines which initiatives have succeeded in collecting enough signatures to be placed on the ballot, official numbers/names are assigned to each of the successful initiatives. Secretary of State William F. Galvin has discretion over the order of questions on the ballot. His office announced that they had determined the ballot ordering "based on the perceived relative importance of the proposed laws."

Local questions

A number of local non-binding questions are also on the ballot.

References

Massachusetts ballot measures, 2012 Wikipedia