PDF of Complaint

Invoking voting rights laws and precedents commonly cited in such cases, a group of Bernie Sanders supporters who voted for Sanders in the Massachusetts Primary on March 1st are confronting what they say was illegal campaigning by Bill Clinton on behalf of Hillary Clinton. On that Tuesday, known as "Super Tuesday," reports emerged, to the consternation of Sanders supporters, that Bill Clinton was illegally campaigning within 150 feet of polling stations during voting hours, in some cases walking inside the stations, all of which Massachusetts law expressly prohibits. Laws governing how close to a polling station one can campaign on voting days are similar in all 50 states.

A draft copy of a civil action posted in a Drop Box account states:

"On March 1st, “Super Tuesday” in the Massachusetts Democratic primary...Bill Clinton, did disenfranchise a large group of voters by diluting their votes through illegal campaign activity in and near polling stations. This disenfranchisement was deliberate, carefully crafted, and effective."

The voters contend that far more than being a nuisance and exhibiting thoughtless disregard for the law, Clinton's actions were:

"carefully and deliberately calibrated to impact the electoral battlefield in such a way that the entire course of future primaries was affected."

The lawsuit takes note that throughout the day of the Massachusetts primary, Clinton and Sanders were "neck and neck," according to NBC News, with Sanders at one point pulling ahead. Boston Patch reporter Alison Bauter wrote afterwards that Massachusetts was considered by some to be a "must-win" for Sanders, as any momentum he had might have had would be stopped by a loss there. In the end Clinton won seven out of 11 races in states which were voting on that day, with Sanders taking four.

The complaint states:

"Given the large number of “undecided” voters and the extremely narrow margin of victory for Hillary Clinton, there was sufficient fluidity in the race for Bill Clinton’s illegal electioneering to have made a significant impact, and to have reversed the verdict of the voters by handing victory to Clinton rather than to Sanders. With 100,00 undecided voters and a margin of victory of only 16,800 votes, it is eminently plausible that Bill Clinton impacted the final result.

Hillary Clinton won the race by 1.4%.,

A February 28th Suffolk University poll showed 8% of likely Democratic primary voters to be undecided just two days before the primary, which would mean roughly about 100,000 votes. 1.2 million people voted in the Massachusetts Democratic primary on Super Tuesday, equaling the record number of voters who turned out in that primary in 2008, for Obama and Hillary Clinton. After Super Tuesday of that year, super delegates and endorsements quickly began to shift to Obama.



