BOSTON — Massachusetts voters have approved a ballot question designed to expand the state’s “Right to Repair” law.
The measure gives car owners and auto shops greater access to data related to vehicle maintenance and repair.
Starting with model year 2022, the measure requires manufacturers of motor vehicles sold in Massachusetts to equip any vehicles that use telematic systems to collect and wirelessly transmit mechanical data to a remote server with a standardized open access data platform.
Supporters said the measure guarantees car owners access to the repair information needed to bring their cars to independent shops. Automakers said private data could be made public.
Democrat Joe Biden won Massachusetts and Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Markey was reelected for another six-year term as voting concluded Tuesday.
Markey fended off a challenge from Republican Kevin O’Connor, a lawyer from Dover who’s pitched himself as a candidate who could help clean house in Washington. The 74-year-old Markey has served for decades in Congress, first in the House and later in the Senate.
Markey rebuffed a high-profile primary challenge from Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III in September.
In a live video address Tuesday night, Markey thanked his supporters and vowed to fight for action around climate change, racial justice and immigration reform. He credited the victory in large part to young activists who have organized around progressive ideals.
“Massachusetts voted to affirm our movement’s mandate for change, and I am grateful for that,” Markey said. “The age of incrementalism is over. The time to be timid is over. Now is our moment to think big, build big, be big.”
Biden’s win wasn’t a surprise in a state that has reliably backed Democratic presidential candidates. The only Republican presidential candidate in the recent era to carry the state has been Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
In the state’s 4th Congressional District, Democratic Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss is hoping to become the newest member of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation by defeating Republican Julie Hall. The open seat is currently held by Kennedy, who opted not to seek reelection after deciding to challenge Markey.
Voters also weighed the fate of two questions on the ballot.
The first would expand the state’s “Right to Repair” law by giving car owners and independent auto shops greater access to data related to vehicle maintenance and repair.
Car repair shops and auto parts suppliers said the measure would guarantee car owners access to the repair information needed to bring their cars to auto shops as vehicles become more computerized. Automakers cast the question as a data grab by third parties who want to gather personal vehicle information.
The second question would make major changes to the way ballots are cast and tallied in future elections in Massachusetts by introducing ranked choice voting.
Under that system, voters would be given the option of ranking candidates in order of their preference — one for their top choice, two for their second choice, and so on.
If no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. Voters who ranked the eliminated candidate as their first choice would have their votes counted instead for their second choice. The process repeats until one candidate receives a majority of the vote and wins.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is among the opponents of ranked choice voting, calling it complicated and costly. Polls suggested a close race between the “yes” and “no” camps.
Four of the state’s remaining eight Democratic House incumbents are facing Republican challengers.
Rep. Jim McGovern, who represents the state’s 2nd Congressional District, is hoping to fend off GOP challenger Tracy Lovvorn, while 5th Congressional District Rep. Katherine Clark is trying to defeat a challenge from Republican Caroline Colarusso. Former presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton, who represents the 6th Congressional District, is hoping to defeat GOP challenger John Paul Moran.