Williamson cries foul over ballot access in Massachusetts

It's the latest in a string of state parties leaving Joe Biden's challengers off their lists of candidates for the primary ballot.

BOSTON — Marianne Williamson is crying foul after the Massachusetts Democratic Party submitted only President Joe Biden’s name for the state’s Super Tuesday presidential primary ballot.

“Dem Chair Steve Kerrigan’s misplaced attempt at protecting Joe Biden robs Massachusetts Democrats of their voice and choice in the upcoming election,” Williamson, the longshot Democratic presidential candidate, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. “This action is a flagrant violation of DNC rules and process.”

Massachusetts Democrats are the latest in a string of state parties to leave the president’s challengers off their lists of candidates for the primary ballot, in what Biden’s rivals have decried as incumbent protection that disenfranchises voters.

But there are two other ways to get on the primary ballot in Massachusetts. Candidates can submit 2,500 nominating signatures to local election officials by Friday, or the secretary of state can add candidates who have been “recognized by the national media” if their party doesn’t put their name forward.

Bill Galvin, the secretary of state, “hasn’t made a determination about who would qualify for the ballot as a nationally recognized candidate at this time” because the signature deadline has yet to pass, a spokesperson said. Both Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) have pulled nomination papers, according to Galvin’s office.

A representative for Williamson’s campaign, granted anonymity to discuss campaign strategy, said the campaign does not plan to submit the necessary signatures by Friday and is instead relying on Galvin to add her to the ballot. Her campaign only submitted a ballot request to the state Democratic Party last week, the party said.

“We were going through the process as set by the state party and the DNC, and it has only been in the last 48 hours that we learned of the chair's decision to do this. So we were sort of strung along until the last minute,” the representative for Williamson told POLITICO.

Candidates could pull papers as early as September, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Phillips’ campaign does expect to meet Friday’s signature deadline. Katie Dolan, a spokesperson for the Minnesota congressman — who is challenging being left off the ballot in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee — said in a statement that “[w]e are frustrated that yet another state Democratic party is choosing to give in to the culture of coronation over competition. We will once again be pursuing all available avenues to get on the ballot.”

Submitting only the incumbent’s name for the presidential primary is not unusual in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts GOP put forward only then-President Donald Trump’s name in 2020 — even though the state’s former governor, Bill Weld, was among his challengers. Galvin later placed Weld on the ballot.

This year, the Massachusetts GOP has submitted Trump along with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessperson Ryan Binkley.