SPECIAL INTER-EDITION EDITORIAL
(Publisher’s note: It seems 99% of our effort is placed into the content and production and distribution of the printed Boston Broadside publications, however, between printed editions, we place certain items and announcements online for our readers.)
On February 15, the day after Valentine’s Day, candidates for elected office in Massachusetts can begin the process of taking out nomination papers and begin collecting signatures to formally place their names in contention on the election ballot. Caroline Colarusso should take out a nomination paper.
For those who do not know Caroline, she’s dogged, fearless, tireless, detailed, and dedicated. She ran for congress as a Republican candidate last cycle, and she’s served as a selectwoman and continues to serve as member of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee.
Recently, you might have heard Caroline on the morning Jeff Kuhner show (WRKO AM680), or on the legendary Dan Rea nightime show (WBZ AM1030) talking about election integrity and the pitfalls of mail-in (cheat-by-mail) voting.
Caroline, along with others, have attempted to put visibility on the out-of-control Democrat Party in Massachusetts, and their determination to make voting easy to cheat.
Below is a recent letter Caroline sent to the media and to the so-called powers-that-be at the state house.
Can you imagine a Massachusetts with Caroline Colarusso running honest, fair elections, with full transparency? Let’s try to draft her to consider pulling papers to join the race to end one-party-dominance at the state house, and instead, seat a conservative Republican in the position of Secretary of State. Now that would be a great turn of events and breathe new freedom into the cradle of liberty.
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From: Caroline Colarusso <carolinecolarusso@gmail.com>
Date: February 3, 2022 at 9:04:03 AM EST
To: Aaron.M.Michlewitz@mahouse.gov, Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov
Cc: Bradley.Jones@mahouse.gov, carolinecolarusso@gmail.com
Subject: Votes Act – time sensitive for Speaker Mariano and Rep Michelwitz
Speaker Mariano and Representative Michelwitz,
This information below was sent to Boston media outlets. I have also copied Rep. Brad Jones. Please read it. Adopting universal, no excuse, mail in voting is both unconstitutional and irresponsible of the Legislature at this time. Please read my commentary below. I welcome hearing from each of you.
I am a former two term Selectwoman from Stoneham 2015-2021 and a candidate for Congress in Massachusetts 2020. I am also a member of the Republican State Committee. I care very much about our state.
Thank you,
Caroline Colarusso
he Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court last week held that no excuse absentee voting violates a PA Constitution provision which is very similar to provision in the Massachusetts Constitution both of which strictly limit the circumstances in which the legislature may authorize absentee voting. As I related over the phone, we (1 other congressional candidate and 3 other legislative candidates ) filed a similar lawsuit in Massachusetts challenging the constitutionality of no excuse, universal, mail-in voting here in Massachusetts.
Here are both the said respective PA and MA constitutional provisions:
PA Constitution Article VII, Section 14
Absentee Voting
(a) The Legislature shall, by general law, provide a manner in which, and the time and place at which, qualified electors who may, on the occurrence of any election, be absent from the municipality of their residence, because their duties, occupation or business require them to be elsewhere or who, on the occurrence of any election, are unable to attend at their proper polling places because of illness or physical disability or who will not attend a polling place because of the observance of a religious holiday or who cannot vote because of election day duties, in the case of a county employee, may vote, and for the return and canvass of their votes in the election district in which they respectively reside.
(b) For purposes of this section, “municipality” means a city, borough, incorporated town, township or any similar general purpose unit of government which may be created by the General Assembly.
Massachusetts Constitution Article XLV.
The general court shall have power to provide by law for voting, in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question submitted at an election, by qualified voters of the commonwealth who, at the time of such an election, are absent from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or are unable by reason of physical disability to cast their votes in person at the polling places or who hold religious beliefs in conflict with the act of voting on the day on which such an election is to be held. (emphasis added)
These constitutional provisions are part of our fundamental law and cannot be brushed aside no matter how popular or convenient no excuse mail-in voting may be among those on the left. If members of the Legislature can ignore the constitution when it comes to voting, they can ignore it for anything they wish.
There a reason why these constitutional provisions strictly limit absentee voting. Long before no excuse absentee voting became a cause celebre for the Democrat Party the bipartisan 2005 Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform report stated “Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.” The United States is one of the very few nations where voters are not uniformly required to show identification at the polls. Massachusetts is one of 16 states that has no voter ID requirement. In addition, many nations do not allow absentee voting or place stringent limitations on its use, and no excuse mail-in balloting is unheard of outside the US.
The Massachusetts experience with regard to no excuse mail-in voting to every supposed voter address in the last election gives reason for serious concern about the potential for fraud. The Secretary of State has a responsibility to ensure that we have clean and current voter rolls and not “dirty or stale voter rolls”.
There are many unanswered questions surrounding the 11/3/2020 election here in Massachusetts. See the attached letter from members of the Joint Committee on Election Laws which asked specific and substantive questions and remains unanswered. Despite these unanswered questions, each of you, the leadership in the Massachusetts legislature decided to take a sudden vote on making permanent universal, no excuse, mail-in voting without any real examination of the process. At the very least the legislature should have required Secretary Galvin answer the questions rom the Joint Committee on Election Laws. Our Secretary of State – the top election official in our state has both a state and federal responsibility to ensure our voter rolls are clean and current. Whistleblowers have reported that of the 3.6 million ballot applications mailed from the Secretary of State’s Office that approximately 500,000 ballot applications were “returned to sender” before the November election which would be dramatic evidence of the poor state of our voter rolls. If this is true, Secretary Galvin apparently used a very old and poorly maintained voter list which creates the opportunity for fraud.
Secretary of State Galvin does admit that there exists ballot applications that were returned from the Post Office as undeliverable. However, he refuses to quantify the amount of ballot applications deemed undeliverable as addressed. Perhaps he is unwilling to let the citizens of Massachusetts know the exact amount of undeliverable as addressed ballot applications because it would be a direct correlation to the poor condition of our current voter rolls. The responsibility to maintain the voter rolls is the Secretary of State’s responsibility under federal law. A high number would point towards the failure to accurately maintain the voter rolls, a job Galvin was elected to do.
On January 25th I debated for two hours on Dan Rea’s Nightside WBZ show with groups that share a different opinion. During the on air debate we received calls from all over Massachusetts, calls even from Bernie Sanders supporters. Every call was in support of election Integrity but against making mail in universal no excuse voting permanent in Massachusetts. There many calls supporting voter ID – across party lines. I’m sure you recognize that this issue polls at 70% favorable among voters. Voters want fair elections with the legal votes counted.
******January 25th Dan Rea Nightside******* ads and commercials removed.
Votes Act Debate Nightside WBZ part 1
Votes Act Debate Nightside WBZ Part 2
Brad Jones the House Republican Minority leader on Beacon Hill during the debate last week on this issue (making mail in voting permanent in MA) bravely raised the issue of the constitutionality . Representative Jones has previously made known that there’s a lawsuit that’s working its way through the courts that argues that the legislature must take the constitutional amendment process to change the way we vote in Massachusetts. That this cannot be done by a simple majority vote. The legislature ignored such a substantive argument and did what they want anyway.
I have included both state constitutions ( PA and MA) in this email so you can see for yourself. The legislature is required to go to the constitutional amendment process to authorize no excuse absentee voting. This requires an affirmative vote in consecutive legislative sessions and a vote of the people of the Commonwealth. They are not willing to do this and are trying to rush this through prematurely. Give the people a choice and a voice.
Our lawsuit ( challenging the constitutionality of permanent no excuse mail-in voting) is a simple one issue lawsuit. It argues a constitutional amendment would be required to liberalize absentee voting. That never happened.
Days after the election and without any real evaluation of the process our partisan Secretary of State William Galvin was on a media tour promoting “permanent no excuse universal mail-in voting” without effort to consider the security weaknesses manifested by the vast number of returned ballot applications. In Massachusetts we don’t all march to the beat of the same drummer. We have a history of electing Republican governors. We must think through issues that will shape our state for years to come. An audit of the last election would be beneficial.
Additionally, Secretary Galvin will not provide the list of who was mailed a ballot applications in Massachusetts to election integrity groups that have asked for it. We would like him to account and quantify the returned to sender ballot applications and come clean with the voters about the poor condition of out voter rolls, the very rolls he is responsible for maintaining under the law.
As a former postmaster of the USPS, I spent over 27 years in the US mail system, many of those years as a senior manager. I can help Galvin determine the total of ballot applications returned to sender. The Postal Service mail is counted by linear footage. It does not have to be counted one piece at a time, to get a good grip on how many ballot applications were returned to sender because they went to bad addresses. Did those people vote? Is so where? That question needs to be answered. Those ballot applications under law must be stored for 22 months. The clock is ticking, and we need Mr. Galvin to be transparent. The legislature should halt all efforts to change the law until such time as “all” the questions from the JCEL are answered, and the public is provided the transparency it deserves. Please help getting to the bottom of these undeliverable ballot applications. The public has a right to know.
Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz is fully aware of the lawsuit and fully aware of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision that found a very similar no excuse absentee voting law unconstitutional. Mr. Michlewitz will have a very hard time if the courts weigh in on a non-political basis and simply read and interpret our state constitution as written.
I grew up in the North End of Boston I’ve been in Massachusetts my whole life. The home where I was raised was blocks from where patriots dumped the tea in the harbor to say no more to British rule. Paul Revere’s house is across the street from where I attended school, and the Old North Church is 2 blocks away. Boston is the birthplace of freedom; we ought to start acting like we respect what those brave patriots fought for. The rule of law matters.
This article references the State House News report where SOS Galvin states “it’s impossible to answer the questions from members of the Joint Committee on Election Law.” Questions specific to the November 3, 2020 election in Massachusetts. This should not be. Our elected officials must be accountable to the voters.
The editorial doesn’t mention Republican Rayla Campbell who announced her run for Secretary of State last Sept. Don’t misunderstand, Caroline is a great choice who is all over election fraud and would definitely kick Galvin’s butt but she isn’t running, Rayla is. The last time I read the article you mentioned Tanisha Sullivan as Galvin’s biggest challenger but no mention of Rayla Campbell which is not only unfair, it’s a lie by omission. I don’t see it now. It seems you want to draft Caroline and continue to ignore Rayla. Do I have that right?
Stating that it would be great to see Caroline Colorusso run is not meant to ignore or “lie” about any other declared candidate, especially the former write-in congressional candidate Rayla Campbell. We have showcased Rayla in her past race, and will certainly do so again.
To you point of Tanisha Sullivan, you must have read it elsewhere, not here.
Caroline Colarusso should run for Congress 5th district.