Katie Castellani
State House News Service
Anne Manning Martin, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, cannot appear on September's primary ballot under a split decision issued by an Essex County Superior Court judge Friday.
Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Shawn Oliver and Democratic Party Executive Director Adam Roof filed similar complaints with the State Ballot Law Commission alleging Manning Martin had filed fraudulent nomination signatures and didn't get the necessary 10,000 certified signatures to appear on the ballot. The complaints were considered as one and, on June 26, the commission sustained their challenges to 1,279 of the 10,692 nomination signatures Manning Martin submitted.
On Friday, Associate Justice Jeffrey Karp addressed Roof and Oliver's motions to scrub Manning Martin from the ballot separately. Karp overruled the commission's decision on Roof's complaint and upheld the commission's ruling on Oliver's objection. Karp ruled that the commission's decision to bar Manning Martin's name from appearing on September's primary ballot was "affirmed."
In the three-page order, Karp said he plans to issue a formal memorandum on July 13 explaining his reasoning. Karp said the decision to overturn the commission's ruling on Roof's complaint stemmed from his failure to comply with the requirement to send the objection via certified mail - similar to Karp's reasoning in the ruling to restore Republican attorney general candidate Michael Walsh's name on the ballot. Karp found Oliver complied with the mailing requirements and said the commission's decision to invalidate Manning Martin's signatures was supported by "substantial evidence."
Manning Martin did not immediately respond to the News Service's request for comment on the ruling.
Oliver and his gubernatorial counterpart Brian Shortsleeve celebrated the ruling.
"Election integrity is essential to confidence in our democracy. The court’s decision today reconfirms that submitting fraudulent signatures to illegitimately obtain ballot access is a gross violation of the law and compromises the integrity of our elections," Oliver and Shortsleeve said in a joint statement provided at the request of the News Service.
Amy Carnevale, chairwoman of the MassGOP, said the party is thrilled "that justice prevailed today" for Walsh and was disappointed by the ruling on Manning Martin's case.
"Voters deserve contested races, real choices, and confidence that election laws will be applied fairly and consistently," Carnevale said, adding the party plans to monitor for appeals in both cases.
Manning Martin can still appeal the decision, but time is running out. According to court documents, official ballots must be finalized by July 14. Also, under federal law, Secretary of State William Galvin's office is facing a July 18 deadline to issue ballots.