MassRetirees oppose Question 2/ranked-choice voting

Matt Murphy

A group representing 52,000 retired public employees across Massachusetts came out in opposition to ranked-choice voting on Tuesday, calling the proposed change to the electoral process “confusing” and “unnecessary.” The Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts said it would recommend to its members that they vote against Question 2, which would allow voters in Massachusetts to rank candidates running for a single office and require the eventual winner to get a majority of first-, second-, third- or lower-choice votes to win.

“Complicated schemes designed to manufacture electoral outcomes are not in the best interest of retirees. As the old adage goes, if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Our one person one vote democracy is not broken. Vote no on Question 2,” the group posted on its website.

MassRetirees is the largest organization of retired government employees in the state, representing 52,000 retired teachers and state, local and county workers. The No on 2 campaign welcomed the support of the retirees, suggesting that ranked-choice voting has been shown in studies to disenfranchise the poor, minorities and the elderly by lowering turnout and increasing rates of “spoiled ballots.”

“The huge influx of outside money that the YES on 2 committee has poured into this race has only served to further confuse a lot of people on this issue. It’s good to see that MassRetirees can see through all of the flashy ads and have taken a proactive stance in the best interests of their members,” said Cheryl Longtin, chair of the No 2 Ranked Choice Voting Committee.

The Ranked Choice Voting 2020 Committee has raised nearly $7.78 million toward its goal of making Massachusetts the second state to implement ranked-choice voting after Maine, with major contributions coming from donors such as Kathryn Murdoch, the president of Quadrivium and daughter-in-law of media mogul Rupert Murdoch; Eton Park Capital Management CEO Eric Mindich; and Jonathan Soros, the CEO of JS Capital Management and son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros.