Massachusetts needs to shift gears to enabling its citizens to be responsible voluntarily, to supporting private and local initiative, and to focusing resources on targeted protection of the vulnerable.

Today, after nearly two months of shutdown, Governor Baker announced the details of “Phase 1” of his plan to re-open Massachusetts. While there is some progress with this announcement, the detailed list leaves many questions open. And in areas where it is clear, it does not go far enough - by a long measure. 

The changes announced today continue to put an undue burden on local businesses giving an advantage to large chains. It is not reasonable to allow large crowds into some stores, while limiting local shop owners that don’t have capabilities such as online-shop presence to only curbside pickup. At a minimum the state should have set clear safety requirements that are applied consistently for large and small businesses alike. The capacity limit of 25% for offices is overly restrictive, hitting smaller businesses harder than large corporations that can afford advanced digital infrastructure.

Another example of a key problem is the lack of a clear and expedient plan for opening child care services. Even if we accept that the school year is ending digitally, summer programs all over the state have been cancelled. This leaves families in a dire situation, even if businesses reopen. How can you go to work when you have to take care of your kids at home? Children are already paying a high price for the shutdown. It is time to let them out again.

The situation for preventive healthcare and non-COVID related issues continues to be murky at best. Worldwide, there is a growing concern over the health impact of care not given due to the forced shutdown of non-COVID related services. And while the Massachusetts plan is moving towards restoring services, a faster change is needed.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great risk, especially to those with an already weakened health. It was and continues to be important to ‘flatten the curve’ of exponential spread in order to avoid overwhelming the health care systems. At the same time we can not risk ‘flattening’ the economy or giving up our civil rights, because both can and will cause even greater harm in the long-term. All indications are that the Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes COVID-19 will be with us for the long-haul and we need to develop a sustainable way to deal with it. That can only work with voluntary compliance to well understood best practices.

Instead of central planning with a government-mandated shutdown that has further undermined civil liberties and worsened the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts should have enabled its citizens to be responsible voluntarily, should have supported private and local initiative, and should have focused resources on targeted protection of the vulnerable. It is time to shift gears and move in that direction.

One thing that the COVID-19 crisis has made clear, is that Massachusetts needs a change in its political landscape. Join the LIbertarian Party and help us bring about that change.

In a surprising move, Secretary of State Bill Galvin has allowed the signatures for the second phase of the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) ballot drive to be collected electronically. This drive is extremely important for the future of the Libertarian Party.

When Justin Amash announced his interest in becoming the Libertarian candidate for President, there was an immediate outcry from Democrats and Republicans alike, calling him a "spoiler" and claiming he would steal votes from their candidates. No matter whether Amash or any of our other worthy candidates is chosen at the Libertarian National Convention (now scheduled to begin online on May 22), this argument will eclipse all others, and our candidate will draw the wrath of the main stream. The widespread adoption of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) will eliminate this argument forever.

RCV has been used in several U.S. municipalities for many years, and was adopted statewide in Maine in 2016 and overwhelmingly in New York City in 2019. When Massachusetts passes RCV this November, it will trigger a cascade of success in other states. If timid liberty-minded voters are able to rank the lesser of two evils as a backup #2, worthy candidates will no longer consider the Libertarian Party a lost cause.

In order to earn RCV a place on the November 3, 2020 ballot, the people must submit a second round of 13,374 valid signatures by June 17. The campaign kicked off the signature drive on May 6th and we need thousands of MA voters to sign the RCV petition electronically from home. 

As you may know, volunteers from Voter Choice for Massachusetts, the organization driving the RCV campaign, made history last fall when they submitted 111,000 certified signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; the most ever by a Massachusetts ballot initiative campaign. The Libertarian Party of Massachusetts has supported RCV since 2019, and we are proud to be part of this historic effort to give more voice to voters.

We hope you will take a minute to sign the RCV petition right now by clicking here, and please share this URL with your friends and family (sign.voterchoice2020.org) on Facebook or via email. Nothing like this has ever been done before, but with your help we can make history together.

If you would like to get involved to help safely gather signatures from your friends and neighbors, the campaign has the tools and training to support you. Please sign up here, or contact Brian Bass, Organizing Director for the RCV campaign, at brian@voterchoice2020.org