MA Coronavrius: Candidates Can Submit E-Signatures On Nominations

BOSTON — Candidates hoping to run for office this fall will have fewer hurdles to clear to get their name on the ballot following a ruling issued Friday by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Three candidates hoping to appear on the Sept. 1 state primary ballot filed for relief from current state laws for obtaining signatures on nomination ballots. The candidates argued that the new coronavirus and social distancing measures had made the process of obtaining signatures burdensome. The state's highest court agreed.

"With the onset of the pandemic...candidates could not safely and reasonably gather voter signatures in the usual ways, namely, going to places where large numbers of potential registered voters are likely to be, such as town centers, malls, grocery stores, or political meetings," the court said. "If a candidate seeks to obtain signatures on nomination papers in the traditional ways, he or she reasonably may fear that doing so might risk the health and safety not only of the person requesting the signature but also of the persons who are signing, of the families with whom they live, and potentially of their entire community."

Under the ruling issued Friday:

• Candidates will only need to obtain 50 percent of the signatures they would normally have to get to have their name listed on the ballot.The number of signatures varies depending on what office a candidate is seeking.
• Deadlines to submit nomination papers for were pushed back to May 5 for state district candidates and June 2 for candidates running for county offices. The ruling does not change deadlines for candidates seeking federal office.
• The Secretary of State was ordered to accept electronic rather than "wet" signatures when certifying nomination papers.

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"To be sure, 'wet' signatures can still be obtained, but the ability to do so safely has been greatly diminished or been made significantly more laborious," the court said. "No fair-minded person can dispute that the fundamental right to run for elective office has been unconstitutionally burdened or interfered with by the need to obtain the required 'wet' signatures in the midst of this pandemic."

The court and the candidates filing the action approved of a suggestion by the Secretary of State's office that would allow candidates to distribute nomination papers online. Voters could download the papers and return them with an electronic signatire. "The candidates will still have to submit the nomination papers to local election officials in hard copy paper format, but the proposed process will alleviate the need for, and the risk associated with, obtaining 'wet' signatures," the ruling said.

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Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).