U.S. Attorney Weighs In On Candidate's Primary Election Lawsuit

NEWTON, MA — The Department of Justice filed a brief this week in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court saying it had concerns about the lawsuit that Newton City Councilor and congressional candidate Becky Grossman filed asking for an extension on the deadline for mail-in ballots this primary.

US Attorney Andrew Lelling's office said it wanted to help ensure that uniformed service members overseas have the opportunity to participate in the 2020 general election. The US Attorney's office didn't take a position on the substance of Grossman's lawsuit, which asks the court to extend the upcoming primary election ballot receipt time from Sept. 1 to Sept. 11 to ensure votes are counted.

But Lelling's brief explains that the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act requires states to send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters who have requested them at least 45 days before any federal election. And Massachusetts needs enough time after the primary to certify and finalize the ballots so that the local election clerks will be able to send the military and overseas absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election by Sept. 19.

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If Grossman were to win the lawsuit, that would give Secretary of State Galvin's office about a week to turn around ballots.

During the case's oral arguments Monday, Attorney Jeff Robbins argued in court that state primaries have for various reasons been pushed back before, and Galvin's office has not had trouble processing the votes or ballots or making the deadline to get them overseas. Robbins said that amid pandemic and issues with slow mail right now, there are heavy burdens on voters to get their mail-in-ballots in on time.

But the Anne Sterman attorney representing the secretary of state argued that between early voting, mail in voting and in person voting for the actual day, there are more than enough ways for people to vote safely at the current deadline.

Lelling's brief does not take a position on whether the court should adjust the ballot receipt deadline, nor does it take a position on the merits of plaintiffs’ claims, according to Lelling's office.

But it notes that any adjustment to the ballot receipt deadline should allow the commonwealth time to comply with the Act "to avoid the real possibility of disenfranchising military and overseas voters for the Nov. 3, 2020 election."

“We are committed to protecting the rights of Massachusetts men and women serving our country and our citizens living overseas, including ensuring that their votes are counted and so their voices heard,” Lelling said in a statement.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the ACLU of Massachusetts and several others have lauded Grossman's push to have an extension for ballots. She and others have said extending the deadline would ultimately prevent the disenfranchisement of innumerable registered Massachusetts voters.

The petition was filed with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Aug. 19, and oral arguments began Monday.

"At stake, very simply, is the Constitutional right of citizens to vote, a right repeatedly recognized and zealously protected by Massachusetts courts," the lawsuit says.

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