Galvin began his political career in 1972 as an aide to the
1994, and has retained this title longer than any other politician in Massachusetts history, second only to his last Republican predecessor, Frederic W. Cook, who held the office for 28 years.[7]
Galvin has been an active participant in the National Association of Secretaries of State, serving first as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Securities, then as co-chairman of the Committee on Presidential Primaries.
At one point during the administration of Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, Galvin became the Acting Governor of Massachusetts when both Romney and Healey were out of the state. During the administration of former Acting Governor Jane Swift, Galvin automatically became Acting Governor whenever Swift left the state, since there was no lieutenant governor in office at the time. When Swift gave birth to twins in 2001, she chose to keep full executive authority and did not hand over the governorship at any point to Galvin.[7]
2006 election
Further information:
Massachusetts general election, 2006 § Secretary of the Commonwealth
While it had been widely rumored that Galvin would run for
Governor in 2002
, in the November general election.
The Democratic primary race received relatively little attention or press coverage for most of 2006, but in the last few weeks before election, a controversy over Galvin's refusal to debate his opponent broke into the news with a front-page story in The Boston Sunday Globe.[10] This is the first time a front-page story appeared about this race in any major Boston paper.
2018 election
Further information:
Massachusetts general election, 2018 § Secretary of the Commonwealth
In November 2017,
2018 election.[11] Amid the primary challenge, Galvin came out in favor of same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration.[12] Previously, Galvin had expressed skepticism of automatic voter registration, and had appealed a Superior Court ruling which struck down a state law requiring that voters be registered 20 days prior to an election in order to vote in it.[13][14][15] On June 2, 2018, Zakim won the endorsement of the Massachusetts Democratic Party at its state convention, defeating Galvin, 55% to 45%.[16] Galvin subsequently defeated Zakim in the Democratic primary on September 4, with 67% of the vote.[17] On November 6, Galvin won re-election as Secretary of the Commonwealth.[18]
2022 election
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Notable lawsuits
2008 UOCAVA violation settlement with Department of Justice
Galvin, as the Massachusetts' Secretary of State, was found to have violated the
US Justice Department, a settlement was reached, requiring Galvin to comply with the law. The law requires each state (or commonwealth) to report on the ballots no later than 90 days after the date of each regularly scheduled general election for federal office. Each state must also make such a report available to the general public. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division enforces the UOCAVA and the Voting Rights Act.[19]
2009 lawsuit against stockbroker Robert Jaffe
On January 14, 2009, Galvin filed suit against
Bernard Madoff investment scandal. Jaffe, who lives in Weston, Massachusetts, and in Florida, counters that he is actually one of the victims of Madoff.[20] Jaffe is married to Ellen Shapiro, daughter of Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro. Jaffe reportedly convinced the elder Shapiro to invest $250 million with Madoff about 10 days before Madoff's arrest.[21][22]
1 ▌New Progressive (1 territory) Italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.