Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands 90.1 91.1 94.3
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

MacRae sues to declare Republican senate primary invalid and order special election

Sandwich Town Clerk Taylor White, left, gives instructions to election workers and volunteers as Sandwich recounts votes in a Republican primary for state Senate, Sept. 11, 2024.
Jennette Barnes
/
CAI
Sandwich Town Clerk Taylor White, left, gives instructions to election workers and volunteers as Sandwich recounts votes in the Republican primary for state Senate, Sept. 11, 2024.

Kari MacRae, who ran unsuccessfully in a Republican primary for state Senate last month, is suing officials in six towns in the Plymouth and Barnstable District over their handling of early-voting ballots.

MacRae is asking the court to declare the primary invalid and order a special election to redo the primary.

MacRae requested a recount after the Sept. 3 primary and gained a handful of votes, but she ultimately lost by 39 votes to state Rep. Mathew Muratore, who represents Plymouth in the House and is looking to move to the Senate.

She alleges that election officials in Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, Plymouth, Plympton, and Sandwich failed to compare voters’ signatures on the inner ballot envelopes with their signatures on their applications for an early-voting ballot.

She says such action violates the law and should invalidate the primary.

Two legal complaints

MacRae’s lawyer, Brian Gaff of Salem, New Hampshire, filed two legal complaints on her behalf Oct. 10: one in Barnstable County Superior Court against town officials in Barnstable County, and one in Plymouth County Superior Court against town officials in Plymouth County.

In each case, the defendants are the town clerk, the town’s Board of Registrars of Voters, and the secretary of the commonwealth, William Galvin.

Two other Plymouth County towns, Kingston and Pembroke, are part of the Senate district, but their officials are not named as defendants.

In Plymouth, MacRae also alleges that during the recount, she observed some envelopes that appeared to have no signature and some that had no date and/or time stamp.

MacRae is asking the court to compare the ballot signatures to check for validity and check the date and/or time stamps.

Both of the lawsuits suggest that as an alternative to a special election, the court could declare Muratore to be ineligible as the Republican nominee and order the Republican Town Committees in the Senate district to choose a nominee.

MacRae is also asking the court to block the counting of votes in the general election for the seat, and instead schedule a special general election once a Republican nominee has been selected in one of the ways she has proposed.

CAI contacted the town clerks’ offices named in the lawsuits to ask for their response.

Of those available to speak, all declined to comment for this story. Some said they have a policy against commenting on pending litigation.

This story was updated on Oct. 17 to add the response of town clerks.

Jennette Barnes is a reporter and producer. Named a Master Reporter by the New England Society of News Editors, she brings more than 20 years of news experience to CAI.