By Dan Murphy
In contrast to the expected outcome of the Presidential Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Boston voters resoundingly supported Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in the race.
According to the city’s unofficial election results as of the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6, more than 76.3 percent of Boston voters (187,419 ballots cast) backed the ticket of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over the approximately 20.2 percent (49,654 ballots cast) of voters citywide who supported Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
On Massachusetts Ballot Question 1, which would for the first time, give the state auditor the power to audit the state Legislature, more than 74.3 percent (168,625 ballots cast) of Boston voters supported the proposed measure while around 25.7 percent (58,290 ballots cast) opposed it.
According to the Associated Press, Ballot Question 1 was supported by 71.5 percent (2,092,548 ballots cast) of voters statewide while 28.5 percent (834,026 ballots cast) of the Commonwealth’s voters opposed it.
Ballot Question 2, which would eliminate the MCAS exam as a standard graduation requirement for the state’s high school students, was supported by more than 56.1 percent (132,760 ballots cast) of Boston voters while nearly 43.9 percent (103,812 ballots cast) of voters citywide opposed it, according to the city’s unofficial election results.
According to the AP, 58.9 percent (1,788,506 ballots cast) of the Commonwealth’s voters backed Ballot Question 2 while 41.1 percent (1,247,263 ballots cast) of voters statewide opposed it.
Ballot Question 3, which would allow drivers working for rideshare companies, like Uber and Lyft, to unionize, was supported by more than 65.4 percent (148,414 ballots cast) of Boston voters while nearly 34.6 percent (78,385 ballots cast) of voters citywide opposed it, according to the city’s unofficial election results.
According to the AP, Ballot Question 3 was supported by 54.1 percent (1,585,726 ballots cast) of the Commonwealth’s voters while 45.9 percent (1,346,031 ballots cast) of voters statewide opposed it.
Ballot Question 4, which would have decriminalized the use of certain natural psychedelic substances for people older than 21 and allowed them to grow these substances at home for personal use, was supported by more than 52.5 percent (122,978 ballots cast) of Boston voters while nearly 47.5 percent (111,163 ballots cast) of voters citywide opposed the proposed measure, according to the city’s unofficial election results.
According to the AP, Ballot Question 4 was opposed by 56.9 precent (1,703,794 ballots cast) of the Commonwealth’s voters, with 43.1 percent (1,291,968 ballots cast) of voters statewide supporting it.
Ballot Question 5, which would have raised the minimum wage for tipped employees incrementally over a period of five years from $6.75 an hour to the state’s regular minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2029, was opposed by more than 50.6 percent (117,043 ballots cast) of Boston voters while nearly 49.4 percent (114,078 ballots cast) of voters citywide opposed it, according to the city’s unofficial election results. According to the AP, Ballot Question 5 was opposed by 64 percent (1,938,409 ballots cast) of the Commonwealth’s voters while 36 percent (1,090,498 ballots cast) of voters statewide opposed the proposed measure.