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WOBURN — For the second time in four months, the Massachusetts Republican Party has been forced to petition the state Supreme Judicial Court to direct Secretary of State William Galvin to add the name of a Republican woman to 2020 general election ballots.

Yesterday’s court filing focused on the campaign of Massachusetts 7th Congressional District Republican nominee Rayla Campbell, who Galvin has denied a position on the ballot despite satisfying all lawful requirements. 

“Voters should be alarmed with the amount of litigation needed to simply put a Republican on an election ballot in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons. “Rayla (Campbell) has satisfied all the requirements, and now the Democrats, with Secretary Galvin of course doing their bidding, want to deny voters a choice in November.”

Campbell is challenging U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, whose far-left platform has helped solidify her standing as the leader of Congress’s so-called “Squad,” a clique that includes avowed socialists such as New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Said Campbell in her statement, submitted to Galvin shortly before the filing of her lawsuit Wednesday:

“Secretary Galvin, your insistence on nullifying any chance that a Democratic incumbent may encounter competition during an election cycle is alarming. Additionally, your repeated insistence on barring Republican women from appearing on general election ballots, and the SJC’s repeated decisions to overrule your decrees, should be a cause for concern for anyone who believes in free and fair elections.”  

This past spring, the SJC ruled in its Goldstein decision that the COVID-19 pandemic placed unconstitutional burdens on candidates gathering signatures. The court, citing its disappointment with the Beacon Hill Democratic leadership cabal’s failure to act, directed Secretary Galvin to certify candidates who gathered at least half the required number of signatures mandated under Massachusetts law. 

Massachusetts law (G.L. c. 53, § 40) related to party primary nominees states:

“No person who is a candidate at a primary for nomination for or election to apolitical office, if no candidate’s name is printed on the ballot therefor, shall bedeemed to be nominated or elected unless (s)he receives a number of votes at least equal to the number of signatures which would be required by law to place his/her name on the ballot at such primary as a candidate as aforesaid.”

Campbell managed to secure more than 1,200 write-in votes, more than satisfying the 1,000-vote threshold established by the application of the Goldstein decision to current state law, according to Lyons. 

“Common sense and fairness prevailed when the SJC ruled in July against the Democrats and concluded that Republican candidate, Helen Brady, was wrongly disqualified from appearing on ballots in the 9th Congressional District,” Lyons said. “Our country was built on free and fair elections, something that Democrats like Secretary Galvin apparently feel is a threat to their power.

“Secretary Galvin, give up this charade and let the voters decide.”

Campbell – Petition for Emergency Relief and Cert. by Evan on Scribd