GRAFTON, Mass.  Given the opportunity to get out of paying state income tax, who wouldn’t jump at the chance?

Certainly Ruth Gregoire would. Ms. Gregoire, 71, a retired employee of a fire sprinkler company, dipped into chocolate ice cream at Swirls and Scoops and pronounced the no-tax idea “very nice.”

Lakis Theoharis, 56, the owner of the nearby Pepperoni Express, said: “I’m for the repeal of the tax. To me, the smaller the government, the better for the citizens.”

And Rich Masterson, 39, a trucking company supervisor, said, “I would love to see that!”

That view is exactly what most state and local officials in Massachusetts are afraid of. Amid the whirlwind presidential election, Massachusetts has a ballot contest of its own this November that could drastically alter  some would say cripple  state government.