A new Boston Globe poll says several Massachusetts ballot questions are much tighter than they looked before, with Questions Three, Five and Seven all sitting in striking distance ahead of November 3rd.
That matters now because voters are close to making final choices on a ballot that could reshape primaries, tax policy and zoning rules in Massachusetts. In Nantucket, residents can cast their votes at Nantucket High School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on November 3rd.
On Question Three, which would replace partisan primaries with a single all-party primary, the poll found about 47 percent in support and 41 percent opposed. Under the proposal, the top two finishers would move on to the general election. That margin is smaller than what many election watchers had seen in earlier polling, and it suggests the race is still open enough to matter in the final stretch.
Question Five was even closer. It would reduce the maximum tax revenue the state can collect in a year, which would mean larger tax refunds and less money available for state programs. The Boston Globe poll put support at 40 percent and opposition at 37.6 percent. That is a narrow edge, not the kind of cushion that usually survives late campaign attacks or a turnout shift.
Question Seven is tighter still. It would require cities and towns to allow single-family homes on residential lots of at least 5,000 square feet that have at least 50 feet of frontage and access to public sewer and water services. The poll found 41.2 percent in favor and 40.6 percent against it, after the most recent survey before this one had given the measure a 44-point advantage. That swing is the clearest sign that voters have not settled on the issue yet.
The gap matters because Question Seven would not affect every neighborhood the same way. Many zoning districts already require much larger lots, so the pressure for change would be greatest in places where current rules still leave room for denser housing under the new minimums. In much of Nantucket, that would be one of the places most directly touched by the proposal.
The poll also sits against a broader ballot picture that looks friendlier to several other measures. Questions seeking to expand the state’s public records law, allow collective bargaining for public defenders, provide same-day voter registration and establish a dedicated nature conservation fund are expected to pass. Efforts to repeal marijuana legalization and a landmark gun control law appear to have poor odds, and Democrats are expected to coast to re-election in most statewide offices.
What the new numbers leave unanswered is simple: whether the late shift on Questions Three, Five and Seven will hold once ballots are cast. For now, the race is close enough that November 3rd may decide more than one major change at once.
