Massachusetts voters narrowly reject Question 7 on starter homes

After three days of careful post-election ballot counting, Massachusetts voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have reduced the minimum lot size for single-family homes in a race decided by a one-percent margin.

Question 7, which would have allowed single-family homes to be built on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in residential areas, subject to reasonable local regulation of certain aspects of those homes, was rejected by 50.6% of Massachusetts voters to 49.4%, according to the final vote tally reported by the Associated Press on Friday.

Of the 2,543,512 total votes counted for the ballot measure, Question 7 was decided by just 32,322 votes. It was the final question decided out of the nine on the ballot.