Supreme Judicial Court Allows Helen Brady On Congressional Ballot

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Helen Brady, a Republican candidate in 9th Congressional District, will be on the primary ballot in September.

The ruling came Monday after the State Ballot Law Commission barred Brady from the ballot. According to the commission, Brady was deemed ineligible because a third-party vendor she used to collect electronic signatures did not follow Judicial Court protocol for storing and managing the signatures.

Brady's attorney argued other candidates used the same vendor and didn't have their eligibility challenged. He said this was a violation of her constitutional equal protection rights because others weren't punished.

According to court documents, three other candidates: Caroline Colarusso, Julie Hall and Rayla Campbell, were part of a petition that was consolidated with Brady's appeal. None of those candidates were part of this appeal, as Colarusso and Hall were placed on the primary ballot. Campbell has a separate appeal pending, court documents said.

"Following briefing and oral argument, the court concludes that the electronic signature gathering processutilized by Brady complied in substance with the material requirements of Goldstein," court documents said.

Goldstein vs. the Secretary of the Commonwealth was the 2020 case that outlined rules for electronic signature gather for elections amid the coronavirus pandemic.