Nov. 8 is last chance for voters to decide races, ballot questions

Voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the final day of voting in the 2022 election cycle. If they haven’t cast their ballots by mail or earlier in select locations across the city, voters can head to their neighborhood polling places to make choices for statewide and local races, from governor to state representative, as well as pick sides on questions dealing with a so-called millionaires’ tax, liquor licenses, regulation of dental insurance, and driving permits for undocumented immigrants.

Early voting, with City Hall as its main location, ends Friday, Nov. 4.

The statewide races feature Democrats and Republicans, with a sprinkling of nominal Libertarian and Green-Rainbow candidates.

The choices for governor and lieutenant governor are at the top of the ballot. On the Democratic side, Attorney General Maura Healey and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll are running on a ticket together, while former state Reps. Geoff Diehl and Leah Allen are campaigning on the Republican side.

National politics has lurked in the background of this largely quiet race, with polls showing Healey-Driscoll ahead by double digits. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Roxbury’s Reggie Lewis Track Center on Wednesday to boost local Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump has not paid a visit during the general election, though during this year’s GOP primary, he approvingly said at a tele-rally that Diehl would rule Massachusetts with an “iron fist.” Diehl has proved to be a weak hand at elections when he’s on the ballot outside of his former House district, however: He lost a state Senate race in 2015 and a US Senate race in 2018.

Andrea Campbell, a Democrat and former Boston city councillor who represented Dorchester and Mattapan, is running for Healey’s job. She faces attorney Jay McMahon, a Bourne Republican.

In the race for secretary of state, longtime incumbent Bill Galvin, a Boston Democrat, is running against Whitman Republican Rayla Campbell, while in the auditor’s race, the open seat has drawn Anthony Amore, a Republican and security chief at the Gardner Museum, and Methuen’s Democratic state Sen. Diana DiZoglio.

Congressional races are also up for a vote, with Boston’s two Capitol Hill lawmakers, Stephen Lynch of South Boston and Ayanna Pressley of Hyde Park, facing Republican challenges Robert Burke of Milton and Donnie Palmer of Brighton.

An array of State House races, with most incumbents going unchallenged, are on the ballot. In Boston, newcomer Chris Worrell, who won September’s Democratic primary, is facing perennial candidate Roy Owens. Liz Miranda, the state representative Worrell seeks to replace, is running for state Senate in an uncontested race after she cleared a four-way primary.

The four questions on the ballot deal with a variety of issues. The first, Question 1, would add a 4 percent tax on incomes over $1 million. The money raised would be funneled to education and transportation accounts, if state lawmakers approve such allotments.

Question 2 deals with rates on dental benefit plans, Question 3 is about the sale of alcoholic beverages, and Question 4 would either keep in place or repeal a new law, passed earlier this year by state legislators, allowing state residents who cannot provide proof they’re legally in the US to obtain a standard driver’s license or learner’s permit.


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