By The Gatepost Editorial Board Election Day is fast approaching. Voters on Nov. 5 will determine whether Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, or a third-party representative will be the next President of the United States. And although there is a lot of fervor about the election, it is easy to feel underwhelmed when casting a vote for a presidential candidate in Massachusetts. Massachusetts historically votes Democratic in the presidential election. In fact, the last time Massachusetts voted for a Republican presidential candidate was 40 years ago in the 1984 election. And since 1992, the state has voted Democratic by significant margins. In Massachusetts, the Democratic vote surpassed the Republican vote by 18% in 1992, 33% in 1996, and figures ranging from 27% to 33% between election years 2000 and 2020, according to 270towin.com. The trend of Massachusetts voting Democratic can make the weight of your vote feel much less significant, even if you align with the Democratic party’s values. This, coupled with the fact Massachusetts is not a battleground state, can result in disinterest in voting or a begrudging compliance. However, Election Day decides much more than who becomes president. In Massachusetts, the 2024 ballot includes five questions that will have a significant impact on daily life. Question 5 in particular has been heavily debated as it is relevant to everyone who enjoys dining at restaurants or has current or previous experience as a server. Question 5, as outlined by the State Attorney General, will: “Gradually increase the minimum hourly wage an employer must pay a tipped worker, over the course of five years,” to the state’s minimum wage. According to the explanation on the ballot, “Under the proposed law, if an employer pays its workers an hourly wage that is at least the state minimum wage, the employer would be permitted to administer a ‘tip pool’ that combines all the tips given by customers to tipped workers and distributes them among all the workers, including non-tipped workers.” A yes vote could be argued as a vote for a more equitable workplace, where tips are shared with everyone who had a part in the dining experience. It might also affect tipping culture, reducing the amount customers spend on tips. However, it may also raise the cost of eating at a restaurant, as business owners will need to pay servers the minimum wage. This increased cost might be reflected in service fees or higher menu prices. A no vote would cause no change to the current minimum wage for servers. This could be argued as a better option for servers. Under the new model, they stand to make much less from tips as they will be shared with other staff members. At the same time, a no vote would leave behind the people who make restaurants run in the first place. The people behind the server who facilitate the dining experience are those who make the dining experience possible in the first place. As it stands, there is no way for patrons to tip the other employees of the restaurant who all contribute to their dining experience - aside from, of course, your “compliments to the chef.” Not to mention those who make sure the environment of the dining experience is clean and sanitary such as dishwashers, maintainers, and bussers. Have you ever tried to eat at a restaurant without clean dishes? Advocates of a no vote on Question 5 say it punishes hard-working servers by limiting the amount they can make through tips. However, under the current model, some servers may feel pressured to put up with inappropriate behavior, such as verbal or sexual harassment, in order to secure tips - which are a significant portion of their income. There are also concerns that a yes vote will disproportionately punish small businesses, as they may not be able to afford to pay full minimum wage. Many small businesses, however, already employ servers under the table, circumventing this difficulty. It is true that restaurants already have slim profit margins and a yes vote on Question 5 may further restrict them. However, consider that the Massachusetts Restaurant Association donated over $530,000 in opposition of Question 5. Opposition for Question 5 received over $1.5 million in funding as a whole. That’s a lot of money that could have been used instead to help support waitstaff instead of campaigning against raising their minimum wage. Another important point is that a yes vote on Question 5 may cause difficulty for career servers who rely on tips to earn a living wage. It can be expected that career servers would earn a little less than they do now, but tips are unlikely to disappear. Customers will still tip, and sometimes in large amounts for good service. It just won’t be a silent expectation as it is now. The Gatepost Editorial Board itself could not come to a majority opinion on whether to endorse Question 5. Because the Editorial Board was evenly split, we decided to focus on the importance of conducting your own research in order to make your own decisions when it comes to voting on these ballot questions. They will impact you directly, and if you think they won’t, speak to a server in your life and listen to what they think about Question 5 before you make a decision. There are merits to both a yes and a no vote on Question 5. The important thing is that you consider all options, and do not make a choice blindly. Do not enter the polling place Nov. 5 with a one-sentence understanding of Question 5 - or any of the five ballot questions, for that matter. Read up on the issues. Consider all angles. Make an informed choice.