Half of Newton’s total population cast ballots this Election Day, choosing Kamala Harris, Amy Sangiolo, and Elizabeth Warren as representatives, according to unofficial results.
Here’s how Newton voted.
President
Harris beat out Donald Trump in the presidential race by a wide margin, winning 77 percent of Newton’s votes as of Tuesday night.
But this margin of victory for the Democrats is slimmer than that of 2020, when Joe Biden and Harris won just over 80 percent of Newton’s votes. In contrast, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine won with 77 percent of Newton’s vote in 2016.
Newton saw its lowest voter turnout in three election cycles this Tuesday.
In 2016, 47,469 Newton residents voted, and in 2020, that number rose to 50,570 voters.
Unofficial reports say just 45,146 people in Newton voted this year, though 62,033 people were registered.
Ballot Questions
Question One (Passed): Sixty-five percent of voters chose to grant the state auditor the authority to audit the state legislature.
Question Two (Rejected): Fifty-five percent of Newton voters said no to question two, which would have repealed the requirement of passing state standardized testing (MCAS) to graduate. Some Newton teachers had advocated for MCAS to be removed as a requirement.
This was the only ballot question for which Newton’s results did not conform to that of the rest of the state. As of Tuesday night, question two is projected to pass.
Question Three (Passed): Fifty-two percent of Newton voters approved measure three, which will allow ride-share drivers to unionize.
Question Four (Rejected): Fifty-nine percent of Newton’s voters said no to a measure to legalize certain psychedelic substances found in mushrooms and other plants.
Question Five (Rejected): Fifty-four percent of voting Newton residents voted against a measure that would have raised the minimum wage for tipped workers. Restaurant workers in the city had urged a “no” vote ahead of the election.
State Representative
Democrat Sangiolo defeated Republican Steve Yanovsky for the 11th Middlesex district seat, earning 75 percent of Newton’s vote.
Kay Khan, the longest-serving representative in the Massachusetts State House, has held this seat since 1995. She announced in February that she would not seek reelection. The 11th district is only in Newton and contains most of the Newton side of BC’s main campus.
Greg Schwartz, a Democrat, won his unopposed race for the 12th district seat.
He had faced two other Newton city council veterans, Rick Lipof and Bill Humphrey, in a contentious Democratic primary. He will represent parts of Newton and Brookline for the Middlesex 12th.
The seat opened up after Representative Ruth Balser decided to step down after 13 terms in the state house.
John Lawn, a Democrat, ran unopposed in the 10th Suffolk district, which encompasses parts of Waltham, Watertown, and Newton, a district he’s represented since 2011.
U.S. Congress
Incumbent Elizabeth Warren won a third term against Republican John Deaton, with 71 percent of the vote in Newton.
U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss ran unopposed in his race. Auchincloss served as a Newton city councilor from 2016–20. This will be his third term representing the Massachusetts 4th district.
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