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Crucial Questions On the Ballot

Massachusetts voters should ban greyhound racing and vote no on tax-cut initiatives

By The CRIMSON Staff, November 6, 2000

Tomorrow, Massachusetts state voters will cast their ballots not only for a presidential candidate and a senatorial candidate, but for a series of significant referendum questions as well. Of the eight proposals ranging in scope from charity tax reductions to motor vehicle tolls, we find Questions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 to be the most consequential.

Voting Rights for Prisoners

We unequivocally oppose Question 2, a constitutional amendment proposal that would limit the voting rights of all incarcerated felons in the state of Massachusetts. Not only does the Massachusetts State Constitution explicitly state that incarcerated citizens retain their voting rights, but this very issue was also affirmed by the state's Supreme Judicial Court in 1977. Very few prisoners exercise their voting rights under the current system and it would be difficult to prove that incarcerated citizens' voting trends have influenced any election, be it in a positive or a negative direction. At its core, this question aims to dismantle the foundation of Massachusetts' democracy and should be adamantly opposed and voted down.

Dog Racing

Question 3 addresses the issue of greyhound dog racing in Massachusetts, a disgraceful fixture in the state for the past 65 years. We urge voters to vote yes on this proposal, which would add Massachusetts to a list of 34 states that have already banned such cruelty toward animals. The national greyhound racing industry admits to killing thousands of dogs each year. While still alive, these dogs are kept in cages for 22 hours of each day. When the dogs stop turning a profit, their lives abruptly end. Although this worthy proposal would require that the state's two greyhound racing tracks close by the June 1, 2000, creating complicated issues of unemployment, it would also stop Massachusetts from relying on a morally questionable industry for tax dollars--an industry that not only depends upon inhumane treatment toward animals, but that has declined in revenues by nearly 70 percent just in the last decade.

Reduction of State Income Tax