Kari MacRae, who lost the Republican state Senate primary to Matthew Muratore last month, has filed lawsuits against six towns – including Plymouth – alleging that local election officials failed to follow state rules to verify the identity of early voters.
MacRae, a Republican from Bourne, on Thursday asked judges in Plymouth and Barnstable Superior courts to conduct expedited reviews of the early voting ballots to determine if she was the winner on Sept 3.
Secretary of State William Galvin has already declared Muratore, who now represents Plymouth in the House, winner of the Republican primary by just 39 votes. Recounts chipped away at his original 45-vote margin of victory.
MacRae’s lawyer, Brian Gaff, argued that a prompt review is necessary because if, as he believes, there are more than 39 ballots that weren’t processed properly, the primary election results should be thrown out.
MacRae, her lawyer wrote, “respectfully” urges the judges to declare that “the failure” of town officials to follow the rules was “unlawful and, as a consequence, that the results of the primary election are invalid.”
If that happens, Gaff wrote, the court could order a new primary or ask the Republican town committees in the district to select a nominee to run in the general election on Nov 5.
In six towns — Plymouth, Plympton, Mashpee, Falmouth, Sandwich and Bourne — MacRae alleges, signatures on early ballots were not always compared with signatures on voters applications for early ballots, as required by law.
In Plymouth, she said, observers found 67 ballots with “apparently defective signatures,” the lawsuit alleges.
None of the town clerks named as defendants responded to requests for comment. Plymouth Town Manager Derek Brindisi said the town hasn’t been formally served with the lawsuit.
William Galvin, who is named in the suit because he oversees all Massachusetts elections, said MacRae could have appealed the results of the recounts but did not.
He also said the ballots for the general election have been printed with the names of the two candidates vying for the job — Muratore and Democratic state representative Dylan Fernandes. That won’t change, he said.
“Ballots have been distributed and balloting has begun with early voting by mail. All communities will have mandatory early voting sessions starting next Friday,” he said. In Plymouth, early voting is already underway.
Republicans MacRae and Muratore vied to represent the Plymouth and Barnstable senate district, which is made up of eight towns — four in Plymouth County and four in Barnstable County.
Muratore, who has been a state representative since 2015, declined comment on MacRae’s lawsuits, saying he is focused on the November election.
Last month, MacRae urged Republicans to support Muratore.
She made the appeal during the Bourne Republican Town Committee meeting on Sept. 17 according to the Bourne Enterprise.
“As Republicans right now, while I’m navigating this process with our team, we have to be out there supporting the Republican nominee — which, as of today, the state has said is Matt Muratore,” she was quoted as saying.
Unless a judge intercedes, Muratore will face state Fernandes, a Falmouth Democrat, on Nov. 5.
They will compete for the seat vacated by State Sen. Susan Moran, a Falmouth Democrat, who is running unopposed for Barnstable County Superior Court clerk.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.