Massachusetts voted strongly in support of protections for transgender people and limiting campaign finance on Election Day.
In approving Question 3, voters elected to uphold protections for transgender people in public spaces. Voters also approved creating a commission on political spending by passing Question 2.
“Winning this popular vote is irrefutable proof that public support for transgender people is growing,” Kasey Suffredini, “Yes on 3” campaign co-chair, said in a statement after the polls closed. “And tonight’s outcome will provide the necessary momentum to change the landscape on transgender rights everywhere.”
“No on 3” conceded, saying in a statement: “We are deeply disappointed that the people of Massachusetts will continue to be forced to sacrifice their privacy and safety in the name of political correctness.”
Question 3 asked whether the state should uphold a 2016 law that gave transgender people protections from discrimination in public places. A group called Keep MA Safe gathered signatures to get the question on the ballot and launched a campaign branding the question as a “bathroom and locker room law,” saying that the rule is a danger to women and children because it would allow male predators pretending to be women into bathrooms. Since the law went into place, there have been no such incidents reported.
“This was never really about a bathroom bill,” said Ben Power, a transgender man and executive director of the Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, based in Holyoke. “This was about whether transgender people or gender non-conforming people could be in public spaces of all kinds without being asked to leave or refused service.”
“I’m relieved,” Power said of the results. “But it never should have been on the ballot anyway. The civil rights of a minority should never be up for vote by the majority.”
Lorelei Erisis, a transgender activist who helped pass the 2016 state law for transgender protections, saw the win as having national significance.
“We got a victory — and a big enough victory — to send a message to the rest of America that you know, we won’t stand down,” she said. “We can win and we can keep winning, and we will protect ourselves and we will protect everyone with a marginalized identity.”
At a “Yes on 3” election-watch party, Erisis said, an organizer from the local campaign shared the winning results and gave a speech. “The room roared with excitement,” Erisis said. “I’ve never seen a room full of trans people that excited in my life. It was amazing.”
In polling places, many local voters spoke in support of upholding the 2016 law and voted “yes” on the measure. Of the nine voters the Gazette interviewed at Northampton and Hatfield polling places, eight said they voted or planned to vote “yes” on Question 3, and one said he voted on the question but declined to disclose how.
At Jackson Street School in Northampton, Ron Michonski voted “yes” on Question 3. He said as a teacher, he has had trans kids in his school. “They don’t need the additional stress of not being protected by law,” he said.
Laura Vasquez, also at the Northampton school, voted “yes” on Question 3. “For me, it’s a question of access,” she said. A self-described progressive voter, she said it’s important that trans people have the same rights as everyone else. “Every law should apply to everyone,” she said.
“I think it’s absurd that it’s on the ballot at all,” said Elly Higgins of Northampton.
“I think it’s an indication nationally and locally that there’s right-wing anxiety about gender,” Higgins added.
Question 2
Similarly, Question 2 saw strong support at the polls. At press time, just over half the vote had been reported, and 71 percent voted “yes.”
Question 2 asked whether the state should form a citizens advisory committee that would study campaign finance in the state and suggest amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Citizens United vs. FEC is a 2010 Supreme Court decision that allows corporations and unions to make unlimited campaign donations.
“This is an American issue about representative democracy and political equality, and I think this is a huge win for the people — for the people to have an equal voice in the democracy,” said Ben Gubits, political director for American Promise, one of the lead organizations behind the Massachusetts ballot question that’s pushing nationally for a repeal of Citizens United. He added that he anticipates more questions like this one on other state ballots in 2020. And at polling places in the Valley, people spoke in support of limiting money in politics with Question 2.
Northampton voter Steve Kantrowitz said he’s against Citizens United, but didn’t realize right away that Question 2 was on the ballot. He said he saw yard signs and messages for Questions 1 and 3, and less focus on Question 2.
Jemara Sheely, a Smith College junior who voted for the first time in a midterm election, said she voted “yes” on Question 2 as well.
“I think it’s better to have more transparency,” she said at Hatfield Town Hall while waiting for her friends to finish voting.
“I think there’s a lack of transparency that breeds distrust,” she said.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com