VOTERS WERE NOTIFIED!
Post appeals judge's decision on Dennis ballot error
Tracy Post, the Republican candidate in the 1st Barnstable District state representative race, has appealed an Oct. 21 decision from a Barnstable Superior Court judge in her attempt to stop the counting of mislabeled ballots sent out to Dennis voters in October.
Approximately 3,200 mail-in ballots sent to Dennis voters in the first two weeks of October incorrectly labeled Democrat challenger Christopher Flanagan as the candidate for reelection, when none in the three-way race are incumbents.
The 1st Barnstable state representative seat is currently held by state Rep. Timothy Whelan, R-Brewster, who is not seeking reelection. Whelan, instead, is running for Barnstable County sheriff.
Post, Flanagan and Abraham Kasparian Jr., representing We The People, are the candidates in the 1st Barnstable race.
Approximately 2,600 mislabeled ballots reached Dennis homes
Dennis Town Clerk Theresa Bunce was able to intercept approximately 600 of the erroneous ballots, Debra O’Malley, communications director for the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, told the Times on Oct. 21, but about 2,600 mislabeled ballots reached Dennis voter mailboxes.
A second, corrected ballot was sent to the voters who received the original, incorrect ballot, alongside a letter alerting voters to the mistake, O’Malley said.
Voters were given the option to send in the second corrected ballot, she added, but if they had already mailed in the first ballot and did not mail in the second ballot, the original ballot would be counted.
Post filed original complaint about ballot errors on Oct 18 in Barnstable Superior Court
On Oct. 18, Post filed a complaint in Barnstable Superior Court, alleging the original ballots were defective and counting them would be a violation of election law.
The complaint named as defendants Bunce, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin and the director and legal counsel of the Secretary's Elections Division, Michelle Tassinari. Post also alleged the secretary's office ignored "repeated objections from Post Campaign representatives" on the handling of the situation, and the notice to voters included in the corrected ballot mischaracterizes the situation as a minor error.
Barnstable Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea heard the complaint on Oct. 20, and the next day denied the injunction sought by Post on the grounds that Galvin and Dennis town clerk offices acted promptly on the error, and there is no evidence the mistake would impact Post’s chances in the polls.
Post appeal to be heard on Nov. 1 in Boston court
Post's appeal of Gildea's decision will be heard by Appellate Court Associate Justice Gregory Massing at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston.
Post did not respond to requests for comment on the appeal.
Fellow candidates said they worry about cost of lawsuit to taxpayers
Flanagan and Kasparian opposed the Post campaign's appeal, both concerned about the potential cost the litigation might have on taxpayers.
“While my opponent seems to be more concerned with wasting taxpayer resources during the final days of this election pursuing obvious red herrings, my focus continues to be engaging the voters in Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth,” Flanagan said. “We have real issues in the district, and voters deserve a representative who will give them their full attention and be an advocate.”
On Oct. 24, Kasparian filed a complaint in Barnstable Superior Court against Post, seeking $225,000 in damages to his campaign as a result of her lawsuit.
“She has the right to appeal, of course, but I think it’s absurd and interferes with the democratic process based on a clerical error,” Kasparian said of the appeal. “I don’t have to say it, I think the lower court's already said it. It doesn’t make sense.”
He added if Post drops her lawsuit, he will drop his.
“She’s forcing the town to hire attorneys paid for with taxpayer money,” Kasparian said. “It’s absurd and it’s offensive.”
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