Graphic with images of the webinar presenters. Headshots feature, from left to right: Jonathan Cohn, Chris Keohan, Jesse Littlewood, and Olivia Santoro.
Massachusetts voters will have the opportunity to vote on nine different ballot questions this November 3rd. These ballot questions have the potential to change state law in significant ways.
On Thursday, October 15th from 2 - 3:30 PM, MASSCreative - through our Create the Vote initiative - is holding a Ballot Question Webinar with organizers who are focused on three of this year’s ballot questions.
You will hear from organizers who are working in support of, and opposition to, Questions 3, 4, and 5. This is an opportunity to learn more about the ballot questions and hear organizers’ reasons for their different positions.
Question 3 moves to replace partisan primary elections with a single “all-party primary.” Jesse Littlewood from the Coalition for Healthy Democracy will talk about why they are saying “Yes on 3” to introduce this new way of running primaries. Jonathan Cohn, Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, will discuss why they are a “No on 3” to continue holding separate party primaries.
Question 4 moves to allow Election Day voter registration in Massachusetts. Olivia Santoro, Deputy Field Director for Civic Education and Mobilization at the ACLU of Massachusetts, will talk about why they are saying “Yes on 4” to allow for Election Day registration. There is not an organized campaign on “No on 4” and there will not be an available speaker to talk about this position.
Question 5 would change how the annual limit on state tax collections are calculated, which would increase the likelihood that the state would owe money back to taxpayers at the end of a fiscal year. Chris Keohan, a representative from the “Yes on 5” campaign, will talk about why they support changing the formula and increasing the frequency of taxpayer rebates. Jonathan Cohn will discuss why Progressive Mass is a “No on 5” to maintain the current formula.
MASSCreative is not endorsing any of the ballot question campaigns.
Register in advance to receive the webinar link. Read CommonWealth Beacon’s ballot question breakdown to learn more about each of the proposals.
REGISTER FOR THE BALLOT QUESTION WEBINAR:
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
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Jonathan Cohn is the Policy Director for Progressive Massachusetts, a multi-issue grassroots organization that advocates for state level policy. He has been active in campaigns to expand voting rights, strengthen immigrants' rights, increase education funding, and make a fairer tax code, among many more. He has also been a volunteer, neighborhood team leader, regional coordinator, or campaign manager for various candidate campaigns and ballot initiatives at the city, state, county, and national level.
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Chris Keohan worked as a senior staffer in political, field and finance departments for multiple local, state and federal campaigns. Chris has served as senior advisor to Marty Walsh’s successful Mayoral campaign in Boston, and to Deborah Goldberg’s successful campaign for Treasurer. He also served as the Executive Director of Treasurer-Elect Goldberg’s transition team. He has worked on campaigns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia, as well as traveling to 35+ states performing advance work during multiple Presidential campaigns. He has become a go-to consultant for ballot questions in Massachusetts having an undefeated record over the past several cycles that have won awards for Comeback Campaign of the Year, Best Field Campaign and Best Overall Ballot Campaign.
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Jesse Littlewood has 25 years of experience in the intersection of movement building, democracy and technology. Jesse has held leadership positions at national advocacy organizations Green Corps, The Public Interest Network and Common Cause. His leadership in the field brought him to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a lecturer, where he designed and taught course titled “Social Change in the Digital Age.” Most recently Jesse served as Vice President for Campaigns with Common Cause, a national democracy advocacy group, where he grew the organization’s activist list from 250,000 to over 1.5 million members and supporters, raised over $25 million online from small-dollar donors, and mobilized thousands to take actions online and offline to protect and expand democracy. He is the Principal of Further Forward Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that works with non-profits and social enterprise to scale up impact.
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Olivia Santoro is the Deputy Field Director for Civic Education and Mobilization at the ACLU of Massachusetts. She primarily works with ACLU volunteers and community partners to engage them in civil rights and civil liberties advocacy at the state and local level. She also builds workshops and trainings to help people get the skills they need to be effective advocates in their community. Liv has been with the ACLU of Massachusetts for 9 years.