Around New England

Majority of Voters in Lawrence Voted No on Question 3

November 8, 2018

A slight majority of voters in the heavily Democratic city of Lawrence voted No on Question 3 on Tuesday.

That’s the referendum that asked voters whether they wanted to keep (Yes) or end (No) a 2016 state statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in public accommodations.

Some 50.8 percent of the 14,872 voters went for No.

Lawrence is the poorest city in Massachusetts. About 76 percent of the population is Latino, with the biggest groups being Dominican and Puerto Rican, according to the 2010 federal census.

Lawrence is the largest municipality to support a No vote on Question 3.

Statewide, Yes beat No, 68 to 32 percent.

The other majority-No municipalities are Acushnet (50.4 percent), Oakham (50.7 percent), and Montgomery (51.2 percent).

The municipality with the highest percentage of Yes voters is Provincetown (92.2 percent). It was followed by Amherst (92.1 percent), Cambridge (89.8 percent), Pelham (90.4 percent), and Shutesbury (89.6 percent).