New signature deadline for Massachusetts ballot question backers

Posted Wednesday, May 4, 2016 3:30 pm

BOSTON >> Supporters of proposed ballot questions, including one that would legalize recreational marijuana, are entering the next phase of their efforts to get their measures before Massachusetts voters.

As expected, a deadline passed Tuesday without legislative action on any of the initiative petitions. That means organizers on Wednesday can begin the process of collecting at least 10,792 additional certified signatures required to earn a spot on the ballot. They have until June 22 to submit those signatures to city and town clerks.

Along with the marijuana proposal, voters could decide in November whether to expand charter schools; end Common Core standards; prohibit farm animals from being kept in overly restrictive cages; allow another slots parlor in the state; and set new guidelines for payments from insurers to health care providers.