By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Franklin County, MA) Voters in the 1st Franklin District (including Deerfield, Montague, Shelburne, and other towns) saw a fifth ballot question in last week’s election asking whether they would support a new carbon tax. This was a nonbonding question used to gauge voters’ opinions and required 250 signatures to get on the ballot in each district it appeared.
The majority of voters in the 1st Franklin District, 56%, were in favor of the statewide fee on carbon to compensate for environmental damage. The question also stated that most of the proceeds from this fee would be returned to residents “in equitable ways.” Ashfield’s Citizen’s Climate Lobby chapter was a local sponsor for this question.