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HERBERT L. CONNOLLY vs. SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH & others [Note 1] (and two companion cases [Note 2]).
Present: HENNESSEY, C.J., LIACOS, ABRAMS, & O'CONNOR, JJ.
CIVIL ACTION commenced in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk on October 3, 1988.
On transfer to the Superior Court Department the case was heard by Elbert Tuttle, J.
CIVIL ACTION commenced in the Superior Court Department on October 12, 1988.
The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred both cases from the Appeals Court.
A separate action commenced in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk on November 22, 1988, was ordered dismissed after consideration by the full court.
Arthur C. Sullivan, Jr. (James C. Dragon with him) for Robert B. Kennedy.
William F. Galvin for Herbert L. Connolly.
Sanford A. Kowal for Jody Dow.
Ruth A. Bourquin, Assistant Attorney General, for Secretary of the Commonwealth & another.
HENNESSEY, C.J. We review here three actions concerning the Democratic primary election and the general election for the office of Governor's Councillor of the Third District of the Commonwealth. Jody Dow was the Republican candidate. Herbert L. Connolly and Robert B. Kennedy were the two candidates in the Democratic primary, which was held on September 15, 1988. After a recount of the results of the primary election, Kennedy was determined to be the winner by a margin of one vote.
general election between Dow and Connolly, and allowing the scheduled general election between Dow and Kennedy to proceed. Connolly filed a cross appeal. We transferred the appeals to this court on our own motion. A single justice of this court entered a preliminary injunction restraining the Secretary from transmitting the results of the November 8 general election for this office, in which Kennedy prevailed over Dow, to the Governor and the Executive Council for certification.
From the recount of the Democratic primary, it was determined that 14,691 uncontested votes were cast for Kennedy, and 14,690 uncontested votes were cast for Connolly. [Note 3] At issue before this court were 116 contested votes, of which fifty were absentee ballots and sixty-six were "punched" ballots submitted by voters at the polls. On December 23, 1988, this court entered an order declaring Kennedy the winner of the primary and the general election, and dismissing the actions of Dow. This opinion is pursuant to our order.
add that, if we had to reach the merits of the issues, we would decide that the commission properly overruled Dow's objections. See Wellesley College v. Attorney Gen., 313 Mass. 722, 731 (1943). The only residency requirement for the office of Governor's Councillor is that the candidate reside in the Commonwealth for five years. Art. 16 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution. There was no allegation that Connolly had not been a resident for that period. Therefore, even if Connolly did not live in Newton, he nonetheless would have been eligible for the office. Furthermore, even if Connolly's listed address was not his legal address, this fact alone did not make him a "fictitious or nonexisting person" within the meaning of G. L. c. 55B, Section 11. Connolly appeared before the commission and testified under oath that he was Herbert L. Connolly, and that he was the person who ran in the Democratic primary for Governor's Councillor. The commission stated, pursuant to G. L. c. 55B, Section 11, that it was satisfied that Connolly was a living person, that it was convinced of his identity, and that he was thus not a "fictitious or nonexisting person." We conclude that the commission's final determination in the matter was based on substantial evidence and contained no error of law. See G. L. c. 55B, Section 4 (c. 30A applies to decisions of the commission); Trustees of Forbes Library v. Labor Relations Comm'n, 384 Mass. 559, 569 (1981) (interpreting provisions of c. 30A).
unfairly prejudicial to her. She notes that the Superior Court judgment declaring the general election between herself and Kennedy null and void was entered on November 1, 1988. The order of the single justice of the Appeals Court granting a stay of this judgment and allowing the general election to go forward, she points out, was entered on November 7, 1988. Dow claims that the uncertainty as to whether the general election between herself and Kennedy would take place confused voters and harmed her candidacy. Consequently, she claims, her rights under the Massachusetts and Federal Constitutions were violated. We disagree. It is patently clear that her opponent, Kennedy, labored under the same difficulty which she asserts. It is also clear, therefore, that the special election she seeks as a remedy, which would merely be a repeat of the contest between herself and Kenendy, is not warranted.
We turn now to the controversy between Kennedy and Connolly. We make several preliminary observations. First, the determination of the legal effect of the ballots is a question of law. McCavitt v. Registrars of Voters of Brockton, 385 Mass. 833, 839 (1982). Morris v. Registrars of Voters of E. Bridgewater, 362 Mass. 48, 49 (1972). Second, this court must make a de novo determination of the voters' intent. DePetrillo v. Registrars of Voters of Rehoboth, 342 Mass. 13, 14 (1961). Finally, we point to a meaningful distinction between the contested absentee ballots and the contested "punched" ballots, in that all of the contested punched ballots are before us, but the only contested absentee ballots which are before us are those which were rejected by local election officials as not valid. The envelopes for all contested absentee ballots are before us for our consideration on the issue of validity, but it follows that the effect of any absentee ballots which we conclude were wrongfully counted is conjectural. Thus, in order to prevail, one of the candidates must show a winning margin of at least one vote more than the number of absentee ballots wrongfully counted.
We consider now the issue of the validity of fifty challenged absentee ballots. [Note 4] General Laws c. 54, Sections 86-103 (1986 ed.), regulate absentee voting. The challenged absentee ballots admittedly do not strictly comply with the technical requirements of the absentee voting laws. The Legislature, however, has not mandated strict compliance, and has directed courts not to reject a ballot for an "immaterial addition, omission, or irregularity." G. L. c. 54, Section 97. In keeping with this statement of legislative intent, we have reasoned that "an absentee voter should not be disenfranchised if he substantially complies with the election law." McCavitt v. Registrars of Voters of Brockton, supra at 844. To determine substantial compliance, we look to the purposes of the absentee voting laws, which we have determined to be (1) the enfranchisement of qualified voters, (2) the preservation of ballot secrecy, (3) the prevention of fraud, and (4) the achievement of a reasonably prompt determination of election results. Id. We note that there are no allegations of fraud in the present case. With these principles in mind, we review the fifty challenged absentee ballots. Most of these ballots can be classified into groups and accordingly we discuss them in this fashion.
the Marlborough voters), who failed to have their ballots properly witnessed. The ballots were held valid by election officials, and we agree with their rulings, because the voters substantially complied with the election laws. A voter who is within the United States and whose name is not on the list of permanently disabled voters is required by G. L. c. 54, Section 92, both to mark the ballot, and to execute an affidavit on the inner envelope in which the ballot is placed, in the presence of a witness. The section then requires the witness to sign the inner envelope, and provide his or her address. In contrast, a voter who is outside the United States, or whose name is on the list of permanently disabled voters, is not required to have a witness. G. L. c. 54, Section 92. The applications for absentee ballots by the Marlborough voters indicate that they fit neither exempt category and thus needed to comply with the witness requirement. These voters, however, received "C" inner envelopes, designed for absentee voters who do not need their ballots witnessed. These inner envelopes, therefore, did not contain a witness requirement, or a printed area to allow a witness to sign and swear as to the method the ballot was marked. Therefore, although none of the inner envelopes of the Marlborough voters was properly witnessed as required by Section 92, the Marlborough voters nonetheless fully complied with instructions on the inner envelopes.
and an affidavit signed by the voter. It is possible to compare this information, notably the signature, with information provided in each voter's application for an absentee ballot, and thereby to ensure that the person who applied for the ballot actually received and voted that ballot. The Marlborough votes were properly counted.
witness on each of the inner envelopes provides a sufficient safeguard against fraud. These eleven absentee ballots from Brighton were properly counted.
d. A group of five voters received absentee ballots without first filing applications requesting the ballots. All five ballots were counted by election officials. We agree with these decisions as to all but one voter, who we conclude failed to comply substantially with the election laws. Section 89 of c. 54 prohibits the delivery of an absentee ballot unless the voter has filed an application and has been certified by election officials. A voter, however, may appear in person before a city or town clerk, request an application, and, if the clerk is satisfied with the completed application, receive an absentee ballot immediately. G. L. c. 54, Section 91. The completed ballot will be valid if the voter, without removing the ballot from the office of the clerk, marks the ballot and signs it in the presence of the clerk. G. L. c. 54, Section 92 (b). Two voters in this group of five telephoned their town clerk, who brought the absentee ballots and necessary envelopes to their home. The clerk knew both voters personally. There was testimony that both voters were disabled. The voters marked the ballots and signed the inner envelopes in the clerk's presence. The clerk signed the envelopes as witness, and returned the completed ballot materials. Two other voters in this group appeared before town clerks who knew them personally, and, in their presence, completed the ballots and inner envelopes which the clerks witnessed. Although none of these four voters had first filed a satisfactory application, the fact that each was known personally by the town clerks, and that each fully completed a ballot and inner envelope in a clerk's presence provides, we believe, a "sufficient guaranty that these voters marked their own ballots." McCavitt, supra at 845. We therefore conclude that these four voters substantially complied with the requirements for voting an absentee ballot in person.
this ballot, we conclude that the vote is invalid, and should not have been counted.
e. We conclude that two voters from Newton whose signatures and addresses appear on their absentee ballots substantially complied with the election laws. The statute forbids a voter from placing "on a ballot any mark by which it may be identified." G. L. c. 54, Section 80 (1986 ed.). We have determined, however, that identifying marks do not necessarily invalidate a ballot unless they are "made intentionally and with dishonest purpose." Chamberlain v. Registrars of Voters of Harwich, 358 Mass. 536, 538 (1970). Hall v. Barton, 290 Mass. 476, 481 (1935). There was no suggestion that these voters had any dishonest purpose; rather, the marks appear to be an "inadvertent or careless irregularity." Chamberlain, supra at 540. Although some of our earlier decisions may appear to require a different conclusion, these decisions are distinguishable from the present case because they involved identifying marks which qualify the voter's position. See Chamberlain, supra; Munn v. Dabrowski, 335 Mass. 41, 46-47 (1956). The marks of the Newton voters do not impede the understanding of their ballots. These ballots were properly counted.
g. To summarize, we have concluded that, of the fifty absentee ballots, twenty-eight ballots were properly counted; nineteen ballots were properly not counted; one ballot which was not counted should have been; [Note 9] and two ballots which were counted should not have been included in the tally. As we stated early in our discussion of absentee ballots, we have no way of ascertaining for whom these two votes were cast. At this point, therefore, before we turn to the hand count of the punch cards, the validity of the primary election is conjectural to the extent of the two votes invalidly cast. If the "winning" candidate prevails by less than three votes, under our ruling in McCavitt, there must be a new primary election. McCavitt, supra at 848, 850.
We next review sixty-six contested votes which were recorded from "punched" ballots submitted by voters at the polls.
Voters of Fall River, 328 Mass. 511, 518 ) and any patterns that reveal intent (Morris v. Registrars of Voters of E. Bridgewater, 362 Mass. 48, 50, 51 ).
In sum, we conclude that Kennedy prevailed by a margin of five votes, and this, of course, exceeds the necessary minimum margin of three votes. Our starting point showed 14,691 uncontested ballots for Kennedy and 14,690 uncontested ballots for Connolly. We have added one vote which we have seen was inadvertently not counted, and which was cast for Kennedy. Kennedy prevailed by a margin of three votes (seventeen to fourteen) on the punched ballots. The ultimate totals are 14,709 for Kennedy and 14,704 for Connolly.
application (with an exception for voters who receive assistance in signing under Section 98), and (3) to ensure in general that the inner envelope complies with all of the requirements of Section 92, which include the witnessing requirements. If the inner envelope fails to meet any of these unambiguous requirements and is therefore facially invalid, see McCavitt, supra at 841-842, the official must mark the envelope, without removing the ballot it contains, "Rejected as Defective." G. L. c. 54, Section 94. Such envelopes are set aside, and are not further examined unless there is a recount. G. L. c. 54, Section 135. Even on recount, the ballots are not separated from the facially invalid inner envelopes, regardless of the registrars' opinion of the ballots' validity. Id. Because the ballots are not separated from their inner envelopes, cf. G. L. c. 54, Section 95 (inner envelopes not marked "Rejected as Defective" are separated irrevocably from ballots), the statutory procedure minimizes the potential for conjectural votes.
[Note 1] Robert B. Kennedy and Jody Dow.
[Note 2] Jody Dow vs. State Ballot Law Commission, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Robert B. Kennedy, and Herbert L. Connolly; and Jody Dow vs. Secretary of the Commonwealth, Robert B. Kennedy, and Herbert L. Connolly.
[Note 3] We arrive at the figure of 14,691 uncontested votes cast for Kennedy after we subtract the twenty-five challenged punched ballots from the 14,716 votes certified by the Secretary. We arrive at the figure of 14,690 uncontested votes cast for Connolly after we subtract the twenty-five challenged punched ballots from the 14,715 votes certified by the Secretary.
[Note 4] Connolly argues that the judge should not have admitted nineteen of these fifty absentee ballots because he claims that Kennedy waived any objections to the ballots by not filing a recount petition and by not objecting to these particular ballots during the recount. In McCavitt, we held that a candidate who challenges certain ballots in a judicial proceeding need not object to those specific ballots during a recount proceeding. McCavitt, supra at 840. Instead, we determined that a general allegation by a challenger that "`absentee ballots and the applications therefor are in error,' is sufficient to preserve the issue for judicial determination." Id., quoting Desjourdy v. Registrars of Voters of Uxbridge, 358 Mass. 664, 667 (1971). Connolly contends that McCavitt is distinguishable because there the challenger filed a recount petition and Kennedy did not file such a petition here. We do not think this is a meaningful distinction, especially in light of the fact that a court may order the production of ballots other than those specifically recorded as protested at the recount. G. L. c. 54, Section 135, twelfth par. We conclude that the judge properly admitted these ballots and considered the issues they raise.
[Note 5] Section 98, on its face, allows a voter to receive assistance only in preparing a ballot, and does not specifically allow for assistance in signing an application for an absentee ballot. We believe the Legislature intended to allow a voter to receive assistance, subject to requirements of Section 98, in completing a ballot, an application, or both. Cf. G. L. c. 54, Section 89A (allowing parent of specially qualified voter or voter attending institution of higher education to apply for absentee ballot on voter's behalf).
[Note 6] None of the inner envelopes or applications contains a printed space allowing a person who assists the voter to explain why the voter may be unable to write. Cf. G. L. c. 54, Section 103E. Adding this provision would clarify the duties of persons who assist voters.
A further revision of the inner envelopes is necessary. Section 92 (a) specifically allows a witness to communicate with a voter as to how the voter wishes to vote if the witness is assisting the voter under Section 98. The "R" inner envelopes which are designed for witnessed absentee ballots, however, do not appear to allow a witness to assist the voter in marking the ballot. Instead, the inner envelopes require the witness to swear, with no apparent exceptions, "I had no communication with the voter as to how he or she was to vote." These inner envelopes, therefore, should be revised to comply with the statute.
[Note 7] Chapter 54 provides a scheme to minimize the risk that ballots of nursing home residents will be invalidated because of improper witnessing or assistance. The statute provides for an election official to deliver ballots to residents of a "[d]esignated health care facility," to witness a voter's marking of the ballot and execution of the required affidavit, to provide assistance if necessary, and to return the ballot to the city or town clerk. G. L. c. 54, Sections 89 (a), 92 (c).
[Note 8] The judge ruled that one in-person ballot was properly counted. The judge found that, although the voter's name did not appear on the voting list for the ward and precinct in which she voted, evidence indicated that the voter had moved recently, and thus was properly allowed to vote by an election official. See G. L. c. 51, Section 1. We agree with the judge's ruling.
We have consistently referred to the total as fifty "absentee" ballots. The above makes it clear that there are actually forty-nine absentee ballots, and one in-person ballot.
[Note 9] This vote was cast for Kennedy and is added to his total in the tally included in part 5 of this opinion.
[Note 10] We determine that the exhibit numbers of the Kennedy votes are 18, 20, 24, 25, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 40, 42, 45, 48, 53, 54, 57, and 64.
[Note 11] We determine that the exhibit numbers of the Connolly votes are 3, 4, 9, 11, 26, 28, 31, 43, 44, 46, 50, 52, 66, and 69.
[Note 12] We determine that all of the exhibits from numbers 3 through 69, except those listed in nn. 10 and 11 above, were blanks. There was no ballot identified as exhibit 16.
[Note 13] See also our suggestions in note 6, supra, for necessary revision of the printed forms on envelopes and applications for absentee ballots.

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