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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1944-11-07-STATE-ELECTION-WARRANT WARRANT FOR STATE ELECTION Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex, ss. To either of the Constables of the Town of Lexington, in said County, Greeting In the name of the Commonwealth you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of said Town who are qualified to vote in Elections to meet in their respective voting places in said Town, PRECINCT ONE, ADAMS SCHOOL: PRECINCT TWO, THREE AND FOUR, CARY MEMORIAL BUILDING, on TUESDAY, THE SEVENTH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1944 at 7:00 o' clock A. M. to cast their ballots for the following officers: Presidential Electors; Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Secretary; Treasurer; Auditor; Attorney General; Senator in Congress: (to fill vacancy) Representative in Congress , Councillor; Senator; Three Representatives in General Court; Two County Commissioners; Sheriff VACANCIES One County Commissioner And to take action on the following questions QUESTION NO. 1. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO TEE CONSTITUTION. Shall an amendment to the constitution to provide for a Fair, Concise Summary, instead of a Description, of Each Proposed Amendment to the Constitution and Each Law submitted to the People , under the Initiative and the Referendum, and Certain Changes relative to the Filing of Initiative Petitions which is further described as follows:- This amendment amends Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Con- stitution by striking out section three under the heading "The Initiative. II. Initiative Petitions" and inserting in place thereof a new section which provides, -- That an initiative petition for a constitutional amendment or a law shall first be signed by ten qualified voters of the Commonwealth and shall be submitted to the Attorney General not later than the first Wednesday of the August before the assembling of the General Court into which it is to be introduced. It may be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth if the Attorney General shall certify that the measure and its title are in proper form and that it is not , affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections, and that it contains only subjects not excluded from the popular initiative and which are related or which are mutually dependent. The Secretary shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers. He shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed measure, as determined by the Attorney General as it will appear upon the ballot , together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. All such petitions, with the first ten signatures attached, shall be filed with the Secretary not earlier than the first Wednesday of the September before the assembling of the Legislature into which they are to be introduced, and the remainder of the required signatures shall be filed not later than the first Wednesday of the following December. -2- Section 3 of that part of said Article XLVIII under the heading "The Referendum. III. Referendum Petitions. " is also amended by striking out the second sentence of such section and inserting in place thereof provisions that the Secretary shall provide blanks for the use of signers of a referendum petition on a law requesting that the operation of such law be suspended subsequent to the first ten signers and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed law as determined by the Attorney General as it will appear upon the ballot, together with, the names and residences of the first ten signers. Section 4 of that part of said Article XLVIII under the heading "The Referendum. III. Referendum Petitions", is also amended by striking out the third sentence of such section and inserting in place thereof provisions that the Secretary shall provide blanks for the use of signers subsequent to the first ten signers of a referendum petition asking for the repeal of an emergency law or of a law which takes effect because the referendum petition does not contain a request for suspension, and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed law as such summary will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. Article XLVIII is further amended by striking out subheading "III. Form of Ballot" and subheading "IV. Information for Voters" under the heading "General Provisions" and inserting in place thereof new subheadings III and IV, which provide, respectively: III. FORM OF BALLOT. Anfair, concise summary of each proposed amendment to the Constitution and each law submitted to the people, as determined by the Attorney General shall be printed on the ballot. The Secretary shall give each question a number and cause such question, except as otherwise authorized in said article of amendment , to be printed on the ballot in the following form In the case of an amendment to the constitution: Do you approve of the adoption of an amendment to the constitution summarized below, (here state, in distinctive type , whether approved or disapproved by the general court, and by what vote thereon)? Yes.---No. (Set forth summary heret In the case of a law Do you approve of a law summarized below, (here state, in distinctive type, whether approved or disapparoved by the general court, and by what vote thereon)? Yes.---No. (Set forth summary here) IV. INFORMATION FOR VOTERS. The Secretary shall print and send to each registered voter the full text of every measure to be submitted to the people , together with a copy of the legislative committee' s majority and minority reports, with the names of the majority and minority members and a fair, concise summary of the measure as such summary will appear on the ballot, and, in such manner as may be provided by law, other arguments for and against the measure, -- which proposed amendment wag approved by the General Court and in a joint session of the two branches held July 8, 1941, received 201 votes in the affirmative and 2 in the negative, YES and in a joint session of the two branches held May 12, 1943 , NO received 214 votes in the affirmative and 5 in the negative, --be approved? -3- QUESTION NO . 2. PROPOSED ANENDMENr TO TAIL CONSTITUTION. Shall an amendment to the constitution to provide that the General Court may prescribe the terms and conditions under which pardons of offences which are felonies may be granted which is further described as follows : -- This article of amendment to the Constitution of Massachusetts annuls Article VIII of section 1 of chapter II of Part the Second of the Con- stitution, which vested the Governor, by and with the advice of the Council, with the full and unrestricted power of pardoning offences of which a person is convicted, except such as persons may be convicted of before the Senate by an impeachment of the House , and adopts a new Article VIII in place thereof . This new Article VIII vests the pardoning power in the Governor, by and with the advice of the Council, but provides further that if the offence to be pardoned is a felony the Legislature shall have power to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which a pardon may be granted. The new Article VIII contains the same provision as the old with relation to the ineffectiveness of pardons granted before a conviction, -- which proposed amendment was approved by the General Court and in a joint session of the two branches held July 8 , 1941, received 199 votes in the affirmative and 1 in the negative, YES and in a joint session of the two branches held May 12, 1943 , received 198 votes in the affirmative and 0 in the negative, NO ! f -- be approved? QUESTION NO . 3 . PROPOSED AIy ,NDHi:N^1 TO THE CONSTITUTION. Shall an amendment to the constitution restoring Annual Sessions of the General Court and an Annual Budget which is further described as follows :-- This amendment to the Constitution of Massachusetts annuls Article LXXII of the Amendments which provideifor biennial sessions of the Legislature and a biennial budget, and makes effective those earlier provisions of the Constitution and its Amendments which were annulled or affected by said Article LXXII, -- which proposed amendment was approved by the General Court and in a joint session of the two branches held July 8, 1941, FES received 172 votes in the affirmative and 38 in the negative, INO and in a joint session of the two branches held May 12, 1943 , received 188 votes in the affirmative and 52 in the negative, --be approved? QUESTION NO. 4. PROPOSED AM NDIMNT TO T; CONS'I'sTUTION. Shall an amendment to the constitution providing for Absent Voting by Qualified Voters who by Reason of Physical Disability are unable to vote in person which is further described as follows - This amendment to the Constitution of Massachusetts annuls Article XT,V of the Amendments to the Constitution which related to absentee voting and adopts in its place a new Article XLV which authorizes the Legislature to provide for voting, in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question submitted at an election, by qualified voters of the Commonwealth whc at the time of such an election are absent from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or are unable by reason of physical disability to cast their votes in person, -- -4- which proposed amendment was approved by the General Court and in a joint session of the two branches held July 8, 1941, received 171 votes in the affirmative and 30 in the negative, and in a joint session of the two branches held May 27, 1943 , YES received 184 votes in the affirmative and 61 in the negative, NO --be approved? QUESTION NO. 5. LAW SUBMITTED UPON REFERENDUM AFTER PASSAGE. Shall a law described as follows:-- This law amends chapter 271 of the General Laws by striking out section 22A, as previously amended, and inserting in place thereof a new section 22A, which provides that conducting or promoting a game of whist or bridge in connection with which prizes are offered to be won by chance or allowing such a game to be conducted or promoted, shall not authorize the prosecution, arrest or conviction of any person for such acts under chapter 271 of the General Laws, which deals with crimes against public policy, if the entire proceeds of the charges for admission to such game are donated solely to charitable, civic, educational, fraternal or religious purposes. This new section does not contain, as did the section now stricken out, provisions authorizing the licensing and YES conducting of the game of beano,— which section was approved by both branches of the General NO Court by vote not recorded, --be approved? To obtain a full expression of opinion, voters should vote on all three of the following questions:— Ia. ) If a voter desires to permit the sale in this town of any and all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on and off the premises where sold, he will vote "YES" on all three questions. (b ) If he desires to permit the sale herein of wines and malt beverages only to be drunk on and off the premises where sold, he will vote "NO" on question one, "YES" on question two and "NO" on question three. ( c ) If he desires to permit the sale herein of all alcoholic beverages but only in packages, so called, not to be drunk on the premises where sold, he will vote "NO" on questions one and two and "YES" on question three. ( d) If he desires to permit the sale herein of wines and malt beverages to be drunk on and off the premises wnere sold and in addition other alcoholic beverages but only in packages, so called, not to be drunk on the premises where sold, he will vote "NO" on question one and "YES" on questions two and three. (e ) If he desires to prohibit the sale herein of any and all alcoholic beverages whether to be drunk on or off the premises where sold, he will vote "NO" on all three questions. 1. Shall licenses be granted in this town for the sale therein of all alcoholic beverages (whisky, rum, gin, `YES malt beverages, wines and all other alcoholic beverages)? INFO -5- 2. Shall licenses be granted in this town for the sale therein of wines arid malt beverages (wines and beer, ale YES 1 and all other malt beverages )? NO 3 . Shall licenses be granted in this town for the sale therein of all alcoholic beverages in packages, so called, not to be drunk on the premises? YES NO The polls will be open at 7:00 A. M. and will remain open until 8:00 P. M. And you are directed to serve this Warrant seven days at least before the time of said meeting as provided in the By-laws of the Town. Hereof fail not , and make due return on this ;'darrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk on or before the time of said meeting. Given under our hands at Lexington, this sixteenth day of October, A. D. , 1944. /1k4A"air/ ° 40 � _- - th •_ SELECTMEN OF 04.16,,,I- ,Ael V - Y.A . LEMIGTON