Amherst Petitioners Denied The Right To Collect Signatures Electronically During Covid-19

Legal Remedy Sought In Voter Rights Case

Source: Marla Jamate

A group of Amherst residents who are petitioning the Amherst Town Council in order to have an April 5 vote on the Jones Library reconsidered were denied the right to collect signatures electronically, although municipal buildings are closed and all Town business is being conducted solely online. Under the timeline and procedures set by the Amherst Home Rule Charter, petition signatures seeking reconsideration of the Town Council vote, and placement of the Jones Library project before the voters in an election, are due Tuesday April 20. 

Citing an undue hardship imposed on petitioners by the Town’s denial of electronic signatures, the petitioners including former Jones Library trustees Molly Turner, Pat Holland, Carol Gray and others filed an Emergency Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in Hampshire Superior Court on Friday April 16. The group seeks the right to use the signature-gathering measures during COVID that were granted  by the Supreme Judicial Court last year in a case called Goldstein vs, Secretary of State (484 Mass 516.) In that case, the SJC gave election-candidate plaintiffs the right to collect signatures electronically, plus an extension of filing deadlines. The SJC order also reduced the number of petition signatures required by 50%.

The Amherst petitioners’ Emergency Motion seeks an extension of their petitioning deadline by just one week until April 26 (less than the extension allowed in Goldstein), and reduction of the 864 signatures required under the Charter. 

“Our canvassers have made valiant efforts to collect signatures in person despite the pandemic, requiring repeated face-to-face interactions, and at times potentially putting themselves at risk,” stated petitioner Carol Gray. “Canvassers have knocked on doors all over town. We also developed a system in which those residents who have printers can print a petition, sign it, and bring it to a drop box. Using these methods, we managed to collect over 400 signatures as of April 17, indicating strong interest in our petition among the general public,” she said. Canvassers are continuing their challenging task up until the April 20 deadline.

Canvassers trying to collect signatures in person have found that some residents, although supportive of the petition, state they are afraid to touch the clipboard or pen. Others say they don’t do any business at the door because of COVID-19. Numerous residents across Amherst have asked petitioners in person, by phone, or via email if they could sign electronically. All had to be told no, based on information given to the petitioners by Town Clerk Susan Audette on April 12, and the Town Council’s subsequent denial of a formal request for COVID-19-related accomodations a few days later.

Petitioners filed their Emergency Motion after Town Council Chair Lynn Griesemer stated that an emergency meeting on the issue would not be called. 

Amherst has a large population of students living off-campus, and has seen 2.631 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 110 in the last 14 days.

 “Residents are aware of the pandemic’s ongoing presence here and remain cautious and sometimes fearful about face-to-face interactions,” said petitioner Sean Burke. 

All Town boards and committees are meeting solely online, while parents have been told not to gather outside the just-reopened elementary schools, and the middle and high schools remain closed. The absence of ordinary gathering places has cut off usual routes for signature collection. The SJC’s reasons for granting three COVID accommodations to the plaintiffs in Goldstein vs. Secretary included the petitioners’ inability to attend gatherings where a large number of registered voters might congregate, such as political meetings. 

“There simply are no such gatherings since all such business is now conducted online,” Gray said..

Meanwhile, some petition drive volunteers are not yet vaccinated and can’t canvas due to concerns for their own health or that of medically vulnerable family members.Others are newly vaccinated and so lack full immunity. Due to the slow vaccine rollout in Massachusetts, canvassers have had to take time from the petition drive to search for vaccine appointments. A severe lack of vaccine appointments available locally after eligibility expanded April 5 meant that some canvassers could only get appointments hours away from Amherst.

“The current circumstances are far from normal,” said resident Rita Burke. 

The Town previously allowed a group which petitioned for an Open Meeting of the Residents held on February 4, 2021 to collect electronic signatures.

“What this petition is really about is letting voters decide for themselves whether the Town will embark on a huge capital project that may not be their top priority. The Town Council’s failure to even call a meeting to discuss petitioners’ very reasonable requests is a failure to allow the voters’ voices to be heard,” Gray stated. “There are accommodations being made worldwide due to COVID-19 and our local government should recognize that.” 

The case also underscores a broader need to protect the ability of citizens to petition their government effectively during COVID-19. 

Voters who would like to sign the petition are invited to go to  https://www.savejoneslibrary.org/ to print and sign the petition, and can then contact organizers for pick-up or a list of drop-off locations.

On April 5, the Amherst Town Council voted to borrow over $35 million to reconstruct the Jones Library. The plan would demolish 40 percent of the existing structure, including the ADA-compliant brick section built in the 1990s. State assistance for this project would be limited, and the Town has more urgent capital needs, including replacing  elementary schools, the Fire Station, and Department of Public Works. The Town, which anticipates making significant school budget cuts in fiscal 2022, also has a multi-million dollar backlog in needed road and sidewalk repairs. Amherst’s property tax rates are among the highest in Massachusetts. However, after Amherst spends tens of millions of borrowed money on the Jones Library project, the Town Council has said it will seek a tax increase via override to pay for upcoming elementary school construction.

For further information, contact:  Marla Jamate  at marlagonow@gmail