Everyone and their mother has been discussing, raging, and praising the 2016 Presidential election. From the surface it looks like nothing more than a battle for the oval office, however, there are individual, state-wide aspects that must not be left in the shadows.

Ballot questions offer a democratic approach in making significant changes and laws, allowing citizens to have a direct say in how their state is governed. Although not each state has ballot questions, on November 8, 2016, Massachusetts will be deciding on four main questions:

Question 1 would allow the Gaming Commission to issue an additional slots license.

Question 2 would authorize the approval of up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions in existing charter schools by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education per year.

Question 3 would prohibit certain methods of farm animal containment.

Question 4 would legalize recreational marijuana for individuals at least 21 years old.

These questions were not cherry-picked by a select few people; the process for passing and promoting questions follows a set structure before they are marked in ink on the general election ballot.

Citizens were required to file, at the minimum, 64,750 valid signatures in the first round. These signatures are necessary before any state statute of amendments to the Constitution can even been initiated. There are at least 32,375 valid signatures needed to require veto referendums.

According to Ballotpedia, citizens of Massachusetts may initiate legislation through the process of 'indirect initiative.' This requires that successful petitions are presented to the Massachusetts General Court. After a presentation to the court, amendment require approval from one-fourth of the legislators in joint session before moving on toward the ballot.

Statutes are adopted by the legislature only by a majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. If a statute is not adopted into the legislature, proponents must collect another, less demeaning, amount of signatures in order to place the statute on the ballot. In Massachusetts, citizens have the right and power to repeal legislation by undergoing veto referendum.

In Massachusetts, the General Court can place restrictions and measures on the ballot labeled as "legislatively referred constitutional amendments." This lasts for a period of about seven months.

The intricate steps taken to initiate ballot questions exemplify the significance in their need to be voted on in state legislature. These questions are one of the only forms of direct democracy present in United States' elections. They allow for the movement of state-by-state legislature, which show that the general electing of the president is not a one-man show, but a parade of people raising their initiatives.

Everyday people like you and I have a say in not only who we elect as president of the United States, but what types of bills and laws we deem important to our own home states.