{"id":4939,"date":"2026-07-14T18:04:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:04:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:04:37","slug":"mass-high-court-bars-gop-lieutenant-governor-candidate-from-ballot-amid-overwhelming-evidence-of-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939","title":{"rendered":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

A justice on the state\u2019s highest court on Tuesday barred a Republican lieutenant governor candidate from appearing on her party\u2019s primary ballot, saying he agreed with a lower court ruling that there was \u201csubstantial, if not overwhelming evidence\u201d that her campaign submitted fraudulent voter signatures in order to qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Collins calls for ending all \u2018non-urgent\u2019 ICE car stops after Maine shooting<\/a><\/p>\n

In an eight-page decision Tuesday, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Frank M. Gaziano upheld a State Ballot Law Commission decision blocking Anne Manning Martin from the September ballot. The commission said Manning Martin\u2019s campaign turned in hundreds of signatures that were likely written by the same person and mirrored those submitted by Michael Walsh, a Republican attorney general candidate, who, in a separate SJC decision, was allowed to appear on the GOP ballot.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIn short, there was substantial evidence to support the SBLC\u2019s decision to strike 1,279 signatures within Manning Martin\u2019s nomination papers, and the petitioner has not demonstrated that she is entitled to relief,\u201d Gaziano wrote in his ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n

An attorney representing Manning Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deb O\u2019Malley, a spokesperson for Secretary of State William F. Galvin, confirmed that Manning Martin\u2019s \u201cname will not be printed\u201d on the Republican state primary ballot for lieutenant governor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaziano\u2019s ruling comes a day after he reinstated Walsh to the ballot despite \u201csubstantial evidence\u201d the Lynnfield Republican\u2019s campaign also submitted fake signatures. <\/span><\/p>\n

The difference in the decisions for Walsh and Manning Martin came down to the mail. <\/span><\/p>\n

Multiple judges found that Adam Roof, the state Democratic Party official who challenged both Walsh and Manning Martin\u2019s place on the ballot, did not correctly submit his objection. State law requires it to be sent via registered or certified mail; he instead sent it by email and through first-class mail.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Manning Martin also had her signatures challenged by Shawn Oliver, another Republican candidate for lieutenant governor who is running alongside gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. Gaziano wrote Tuesday that there was enough evidence that Oliver\u2019s legal assistant had mailed the objection by certified mail, including the existence of a so-called “green card” \u2014 or return receipt \u2014 \u201cmemorializing proof of delivery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Manning Martin argued that Oliver did not provide her with a list of all the signatures he was challenging. But Gaziano said a document provided by Oliver containing the page and line of each challenged signature, as well as the basis for the challenge, was sufficient.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more E. Jean Carroll is paid $5.8 million in Trump sex abuse and defamation case<\/a><\/p>\n

Manning Martin had previously appealed the state commission\u2019s ruling in Essex County Superior Court, but lost that bid, too, after two days of hearings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortsleeve said Oliver \u201cfollowed the rules\u201d when submitting his challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to stand tall with Shawn Oliver to fight for election integrity,\u201d Shortsleeve said outside the State House on Tuesday. \u201cSignature fraud is wrong anywhere it occurs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In interviews with the Globe, a dozen people whose signatures appeared on Manning Martin and Walsh\u2019s nomination papers said they did not sign the sheets.<\/span><\/p>\n

District attorneys in Norfolk and Plymouth counties have launched investigations in the wake of the signature fraud allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n

When pressed on alleged fraud involving her campaign\u2019s signatures, Manning Martin\u2019s lawyer has repeatedly said no voters were brought before the state commission to verify that their signatures were forged. Walsh has denied the fraud allegations, but when asked earlier this month whether he submitted fake signatures, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortsleeve, who donated $1,000 to Walsh in February, demurred Tuesday when asked whether Walsh, too, should be allowed on the ballot amid the fraud allegations. He said he didn\u2019t follow Walsh\u2019s case \u201cclosely,\u201d and said he donated to the Republican because the incumbent, Democrat Andrea Campbell, \u201chas to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you there\u2019s an active, open investigation,\u201d he said of the fraud accusations. \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to watch it carefully, and everyone who is involved in signature fraud should be held accountable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The fraud allegations in both Manning Martin and Walsh\u2019s cases center on the work of Joe Bronske, a signature gatherer hired by the two campaigns. <\/span><\/p>\n

In court documents, an attorney for the state commission accused Bronske of engaging \u201cin a systematic \u2014 although ultimately obvious and easily detected \u2014 fraud\u201d by forging signatures to help Manning Martin and Walsh qualify for the primary ballot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more After Lindsey Graham\u2019s death, questions linger about aging politicians and health transparency<\/a><\/p>\n

Kelly Garrity of the Globe staff contributed reporting.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A justice said Tuesday he agreed with a lower court ruling that there was \u201csubstantial, if not overwhelming evidence\u201d that Anne Manning Martin’s campaign submitted fraudulent voter signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A justice said Tuesday he agreed with a lower court ruling that there was \u201csubstantial, if not overwhelming evidence\u201d that Anne Manning Martin's campaign submitted fraudulent voter signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939\"},\"wordCount\":786,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939\",\"name\":\"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":1027},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4939#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"A justice said Tuesday he agreed with a lower court ruling that there was \u201csubstantial, if not overwhelming evidence\u201d that Anne Manning Martin's campaign submitted fraudulent voter signatures in order to qualify for the ballot.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud","datePublished":"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939"},"wordCount":786,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939","name":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-14T18:04:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00689e7e8a9474f77a5c02c0d9acdf4b.avif","width":1440,"height":1027},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4939#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mass. high court bars GOP lieutenant governor candidate from ballot amid \u2018overwhelming evidence\u2019 of fraud"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}