When Vineyarders step into the voting booth for the November general election, they will weigh in on more than just the Presidential race. 

As Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump duke it out for votes nationally and here on the Island, residents from the six towns will head to the ballot for the three-way race for the Cape and Islands senate seat, a contested race for Martha’s Vineyard Commission and ballot questions on everything from standardized school testing to psychedelic mushrooms. 

Early voting across the Island starts Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 1. The last day to register to vote in the general election is Oct. 26 and election day is Nov. 5. 

State Sen. Julian Cyr, a Democrat from Truro, is looking to retain his seat on Beacon Hill, facing off against Christopher Lauzon, a Republican from Barnstable, and Joe Van Nes, an unenrolled candidate from West Tisbury. 

Ten people are on the ballot for nine seats on the commission.

Ray Ewing

Ten people are on the ballot for nine seats on the commission.

Ray Ewing

The seat encompasses the Vineyard, Nantucket and a majority of Cape Cod. 

Mr. Cyr, who has been in office since 2017, has touted his legislative work on housing, health care and climate change. Mr. Lauzon, who used to work for the Hy-Line ferries before working in his family auto repair business, has campaigned against Mr. Cyr’s “progressive agenda” and policies.

Joe Van Nes, a West Tisbury resident, is on the ballot but he hasn’t run a robust campaign. He filed his candidacy with the Office of Campaign Finance in June and, as of Sept. 30, has only $25 in his war chest. 

At the Island-only level, there is only one contested race. Ten people are on the ballot for nine Martha’s Vineyard Commission seats. 

Jeff Agnoli, Jay Grossman, Ben Robinson, Doug Sederholm, Linda Sibley and Brian Smith are all looking to retain their seats on the regional planning commission. Michael MacKenty, who is serving on the commission now after the death of Edgartown commissioner Christina Brown, William O’Brien, Mary Budinger-Cormie and Amy Upton have all also thrown their hats in the ring. 

Longtime commission member Fred Hancock, who will have served 15 years on the commission, is not running for reelection, nor is Aquinnah member Carole Vandal. 

Clarence (Trip) Barnes, a Tisbury commissioner since 2013, missed the filing deadline to get on the ballot, but assured voters that he was planning to mount a write-in campaign. 

“I got a real knowledge of Island people and their ways and the way business is run,” he said. “I also have a good insight into what’s changing here.”

The commission only allows three members from the same town, which could affect the outcome of the race. 

School officials say the MCAS tests put a lot of pressure on 10th graders.

Ray Ewing

School officials say the MCAS tests put a lot of pressure on 10th graders.

Ray Ewing

Mr. Robinson, Mr. O’Brien, Ms. Budinger-Cormie and Mr. Barnes are all Tisbury residents. The commission also has Tisbury resident Greg Martino serving as the town’s appointed member. There could be a similar issue in West Tisbury with Mr. Sederholm, Ms. Sibley, Ms. Upton all being from that town, in addition to Ernie Thomas, the appointed member. 

“There can only be three commissioners per town, including the appointed person, so if more than two people are running from the same town, only the top two vote-getters will be elected,” said Lucy Morrison, the commission’s executive assistant. “We had this happen a couple years ago where there were three Tisbury people on the ballot, but only two were elected.”

At the federal level, Islanders will decide whether to return longtime U.S. Rep. Bill Keating to his seat in Congress, or choose his competitor, Plymouth Republican Dan Sullivan. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is facing off against Republican John Deaton. 

Voters in Massachusetts will also tackle five ballot questions at the election. Perhaps the two most watched on the Island are the questions on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) standardized tests, and the wage for tipped workers.

Question 2 asks voters if they want to eliminate the requirement that students pass the 10th grade MCAS exam in order to graduate high school. A yes vote would ditch the requirement, a no vote would keep the status quo. 

The MCAS are administered in elementary school, 8th grade and in 10th grade. 

Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools superintendent Richard Smith said the tests are useful to gauge how students are doing and where they can be helped, but the tests put a lot of pressure on 10th graders. 

A ballot question to raised the minimum wage for tipped workers has been watched closely on the Island.

Ray Ewing

A ballot question to raised the minimum wage for tipped workers has been watched closely on the Island.

Ray Ewing

Mr. Smith said it’s not his place to try to influence people how to vote, but personally he didn’t think taking the graduation requirement away would detract from the usefulness of the tests. 

“I believe that the graduation requirement causes an incredible amount of stress in our 10th graders,” he said. “I don’t believe the value of the test goes away if there’s no longer a graduation requirement.” 

Jeremy Light, the principal of the Oak Bluffs school, said the state teacher’s union had been campaigning to get rid of the requirement. 

“I’m torn because you do want accountability,” he said. “It’s a tough one.”

But the testing requirement can hurt English language learners, students with special education plans and students with low socioeconomic backgrounds, he said.  

“The way I look at it, it looks like it is impacting a vulnerable population,” he said. 

Question 5 would gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped workers across the state — a proposition that worried some Vineyard restaurant owners. 

The minimum wage for workers who make tips is now $6.75, but if the measure passes, it would be raised to $15 by 2029. The question would also allow employers to administer a “tip pool,” that combines tips given by customers to distribute them to workers throughout the business, including non-tipped staff.

One Fair Wage, the group that put the question on the ballot, said the change would benefit workers, force large restaurant corporations to fairly compensate employees and make tips more of a reward and less of a subsidy. 

Larkin Stallings, the owner of the Ritz in Oak Bluffs, was against raising the tipped minimum wage, against the tip pool and felt that employees under the current system made good money. 

“Our tipped staff is making in the neighborhood of $40 to $50 an hour or more in tips,” he said. 

Employees are guaranteed to make $15 an hour if they don’t make more in tips Mr. Stallings said. He worried raising the minimum wage would push business owners to raise rates even more, potentially scaring tourists away from a night out on Martha’s Vineyard. 

“I already think we are priced too high,” he said. “We are going to end up hurting ourselves on this Island if we don’t figure out how to keep our prices reasonable.”

Steve Ansara, the manager of Nancy’s and Nomans, worried that if the question passes, it would push more restaurant owners to substitute technology for staff. Like mainland fast-casual restaurants have done, he worried raising the minimum wage would result in more computer kiosks and QR code menu ordering systems without servers. 

“I think that’s what you’ll see,” he said. “You’ll see people cut back on hiring as many people.”

One Island bartender was also against the idea. Michael, who asked to only go by his first name, has worked in the industry for about 20 years, and has bartended at the Attic, El Barco and the Harbor View Hotel. 

He worried that if the question passed, it would result in people tipping less, cuts in hiring and higher prices for consumers. 

“I feel like bartenders need to speak up on this,” he said. “Ultimately it’s going to hurt us if it passes.” 

There are also ballot questions on whether the state auditor should have the authority to audit the state legislator, if rideshare drivers, such as Uber and Lyft, can form unions, and a limited legalization of psychedelic mushrooms. 

Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hours for early voting vary by town.