What Voting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ Means on the 2014 Massachusetts Ballot Questions

[Little Star]

A quick guide to the sometimes confusing world of ballot questions.

A friendly reassurance: voting on ballot questions is kind of confusing. Even if you follow the debates around this year’s referenda, you may have trouble keeping straight what a “yes” vote or a “no” vote actually means. In some cases, a “yes” means you support a new law. In other cases, it means repealing an existing law, making it feel a bit like a “no.”

Of course, if you get confused, you can always read the ballot carefully while you’re in the voting booth Tuesday. But no one likes to hang out in a high school gym longer than they have to. You’re not busy right now. Might as well do some prep work:

Question 1: Gas Tax

You’ll recall that the legislature passed a law in 2013 pegging the gas tax rate to inflation so that it would automatically rise (or fall) as the price of goods rises. Now, voters have a chance to repeal that, and polls predict a pretty close vote.

If you vote yes… you’re voting to repeal that law. That means the gas tax would no longer rise automatically with inflation but would stay at 24 cents per gallon until the legislature voted to change it.

If you vote no… you’re voting to keep the law in place. Nothing will change, and the gas tax will move with inflation.

The rest here:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/11/03/2014-massachusetts-ballot-question-breakdown/