20.128 Warrant for November 3, 2020 State Election20.128
City of Northampton
MASSACHUSETTS
________
20.128 A Warrant
To establish the date, time, and location of an upcoming
State Election
In the City Council September 17, 2020
Upon the Recommendation of City Clerk Pamela L. Powers,
Ordered, Meetings of the inhabitants qualified to vote in the City of Northampton will be held on Tuesday,
the third day of November, 2020 in several polling places designated for this purpose by the City Council as
follows:
WARD 1, Precinct A - In Jackson Street School Auditorium
WARD 1, Precinct B - In Jackson Street School Auditorium
WARD 2, Precinct A - In Smith Vocational-Agricultural High School Building B
WARD 2, Precinct B - In Smith Vocational-Agricultural High School Building B
WARD 3, Precinct A - In the Senior Center, Great Room, 67 Conz Street
WARD 3, Precinct B - In the Senior Center, Great Room, 67 Conz Street
WARD 4, Precinct A - In the Senior Center, Patte’s Front Room, 67 Conz Street
WARD 4, Precinct B - In the Senior Center, Activity Room #1, 67 Conz Street
WARD 5, Precinct A - In Florence Civic and Business Building, 90 Park Street
WARD 5, Precinct B - In Smith Vocational-Agricultural High School Building B
WARD 6, Precinct A - In Robert K. Finn Ryan Road School Gymnasium
WARD 6, Precinct B - In Robert K. Finn Ryan Road School Gymnasium
WARD 7, Precinct A - In John F. Kennedy Middle School, Community Room
WARD 7, Precinct B - In Leeds School Gymnasium, Lower Level
The polls will be opened at seven o’clock in the forenoon and closed at eight o’clock in the evening of the said day,
and all such members will in the wards in which they are entitled to vote between said hours give in their votes for
the following offices:
ELECTORS FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
SENATOR IN CONGRESS FOR THIS COMMONWEALTH
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FOR THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
COUNCILLOR FOR THE EIGHTH DISTRICT
SENATOR IN GENERAL COURT FOR HAMPSHIRE FRANKLIN & WORCESTER DISTRICT
REPRESENTATIVE IN GENERAL COURT FOR THE FIRST HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT
REGISTER OF PROBATE FOR HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
They will also give their votes, Yes or No, to the following questions:
20.128
QUESTION 1
LAW PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of
Representatives on or before May 5, 2020?
SUMMARY
This proposed law would require that motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities be provided with
expanded access to mechanical data related to vehicle maintenance and repair.
Starting with model year 2022, the proposed law would require manufacturers of motor vehicles sold in
Massachusetts to equip any such vehicles that use telematics systems –- systems that collect and wirelessly
transmit mechanical data to a remote server –- with a standardized open access data platform. Owners of motor
vehicles with telematics systems would get access to mechanical data through a mobile device application. With
vehicle owner authorization, independent repair facilities (those not affiliated with a manufacturer) and independent
dealerships would be able to retrieve mechanical data from, and send commands to, the vehicle for repair,
maintenance, and diagnostic testing.
Under the proposed law, manufacturers would not be allowed to require authorization before owners or repair
facilities could access mechanical data stored in a motor vehicle’s on-board diagnostic system, except through an
authorization process standardized across all makes and models and administered by an entity unaffiliated with the
manufacturer.
The proposed law would require the Attorney General to prepare a notice for prospective motor vehicle owners and
lessees explaining telematics systems and the proposed law’s requirements concerning access to the vehicle’s
mechanical data. Under the proposed law, dealers would have to provide prospective owners with, and prospective
owners would have to acknowledge receipt of, the notice before buying or leasing a vehicle. Failure to comply with
these notice requirements would subject motor vehicle dealers to sanctions by the applicable licensing authority.
Motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities could enforce this law through state consumer protection
laws and recover civil penalties of the greater of treble damages or $10,000 per violation.
A YES VOTE would provide motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities with expanded access to
wirelessly transmitted mechanical data related to their vehicles’ maintenance and repair.
A NO VOTE would make no change in the law governing access to vehicles’ wirelessly transmitted mechanical
data.
20.128
QUESTION 2
LAW PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of
Representatives on or before May 5, 2020?
SUMMARY
This proposed law would implement a voting system known as “ranked-choice voting,” in which voters rank one or
more candidates by order of preference. Ranked-choice voting would be used in primary and general elections for
all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices
beginning in 2022. Ranked-choice voting would not be used in elections for president, county commissioner, or
regional district school committee member.
Under the proposed law, votes would be counted in a series of rounds. In the first round, if one candidate received
more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, that candidate would be declared the winner and no other rounds
would be necessary. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, then the candidate or
candidates who received the fewest first-place votes would be eliminated and, in the next round, each vote for an
eliminated candidate would instead be counted toward the next highest-ranked candidate on that voter’s ballot.
Depending on the number of candidates, additional rounds of counting could occur, with the last-place candidate or
candidates in each round being eliminated and the votes for an eliminated candidate going to the voter’s next
choice out of the remaining candidates. A tie for last place in any round would be broken by comparing the tied
candidates’ support in earlier rounds. Ultimately, the candidate who was, out of the remaining candidates, the
preference of a majority of voters would be declared the winner.
Ranked-choice voting would be used only in races where a single candidate is to be declared the winner and not in
races where more than one person is to be elected.
Under the proposed law, if no candidate received more than 50 percent of first-place votes in the first round, the
rounds of ballot-counting necessary for ranked-choice voting would be conducted at a central tabulation facility. At
the facility, voters’ rankings would be entered into a computer, which would then be used to calculate the results of
each round of the counting process. The proposed law provides that candidates in a statewide or district election
would have at least three days to request a recount.
The Secretary of State would be required to issue regulations to implement the proposed law and conduct a voter
education campaign about the ranked- choice voting process. The proposed law would take effect on January 1,
2022.
A YES VOTE would create a system of ranked-choice voting in which voters would have the option to rank
candidates in order of preference and votes would be counted in rounds, eliminating candidates with the lowest
votes until one candidate has received a majority.
A NO VOTE would make no change in the laws governing voting and how votes are counted.