Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • The 19th Explains: Why the nursing shortage isn’t going away anytime soon

        Mariel Padilla · September 23
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Secretary of State candidate Tanisha Sullivan greets delegates from a stage.
Secretary of State candidate Tanisha Sullivan greets delegates during the State Democratic Party Convention in in Worcester, Mass., in June 2022. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe/Getty Images)

Election 2022

In Massachusetts, a civil rights leader is challenging a 27-year incumbent over voting rights

Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, is running in the Democratic primary for secretary of state. 

Barbara Rodriguez

State Politics and Voting Reporter

Barbara Rodriguez portrait

Published

2022-09-06 05:00
5:00
September 6, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

UPDATE: Tanisha Sullivan lost to Bill Galvin, who will now face Republican Rayla Campbell. Sullivan told Boston.com: “Our campaign may be ending today, but our work to protect our democracy — to strengthen our communities — continues.”

Ask Tanisha Sullivan why she’s running for secretary of state of Massachusetts, and the civil rights leader jumps into her assessment of barriers to the commonwealth’s voting accessibility: There are wide voter turnout gaps between communities. A more expansive vote-by-mail program was only implemented following the COVID-19 pandemic. And same-day voter registration remains an elusive policy despite most New England states having some form of it.

Sullivan, an attorney and president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, thinks the secretary of state’s office could up its game when it comes to elections. And Sullivan, who, if elected, would be the first woman and person of color in the role, wants to lead the charge.

“As other states are fighting to protect against voter suppression, there is no reason why Massachusetts cannot be on the other end, fighting and pushing to advance our democracy,” Sullivan, 48, told The 19th. “Because we need both: protection and advancement.”

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

But first, Sullivan, a first-time candidate, must defeat Bill Galvin, the 71-year-old Democratic incumbent who has served as secretary of state since the mid-1990s. The two are on the ballot for their party’s primary on Tuesday.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Republican Rayla Campbell is also running for the seat, but whoever wins the Democratic nomination is heavily favored to win in November. Campbell, a Black woman, is part of a cohort of GOP candidates for secretary of state who have claimed falsely that the 2020 election was rigged.

Sullivan and Campbell are among several women of color running for secretary of state around the country, though their proposals vary greatly. In Michigan, Republican Kristina Karamo, another Black woman, is challenging Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on a platform that includes conspiracy theories about the state’s elections.

Glynda Carr, president and chief executive of Higher Heights, which backs Black women as candidates and engages them as voters and donors, sees a significance in Black women who are trying to uphold democracy by overseeing elections. Carr’s group has endorsed Sullivan and Democratic state lawmaker Stephanie Thomas’ bid for secretary of state in Connecticut.

“I think we’re going to see more Tanisha Sullivans across this country, who are local leaders in institutions like NAACP, who are taking their activism around voting rights to elected office,” she said.

Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye is political director of the Collective PAC, which raises money and support for Black candidates around the country and has endorsed Sullivan. The primary challenge from Sullivan, he said, emphasizes the importance of making a secretary of state’s office work for all of the electorate. 

“I think the question is, beyond the historic symbolism of having the first Black woman being secretary of state, how do we have substantive conversations about starting to eliminate systemic barriers to entry for marginalized communities?” he said. “I think Tanisha brings a very thoughtful, lived-experience approach to that conversation.” 

Sullivan said she’s cognizant of how she could bring new perspectives and ideas to the office, which include further expanding automatic voter registration and better working with marginalized communities to increase voter participation. She said separate from her ideas on expanding voting access, she wants to explore ways the secretary of state could support other policies. Following the decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal abortion rights, she announced support for restricting public access to the home addresses of abortion providers to ensure their safety.

“When Dobbs was handed down, it wasn’t enough for me to continue to say, ‘I am a champion for reproductive justice.’ I wanted to try to figure out a way that this office could play a role in helping to protect abortion access,” she said.

William Galvin waves to the crowd after speaking during the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention in 2018. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe/Getty Images)

Recent polling of the race shows Galvin’s lead over Sullivan has increased 11 points since June (20 percent of poll respondents remain undecided). But Sullivan believes it’s hard to capture the momentum she’s building statewide, which included winning her party’s endorsement over Galvin at a key convention over the summer. 

“You cannot poll transformation,” she said. “You cannot poll the experiences of people in our community who have not been inspired to vote until right now, in this race.” 

Part of Sullivan’s pitch has been linking Galvin to what she describes as shortcomings to Massachusetts’ voter outreach and engagement.

“[Massachusetts is] not a leader when it comes to voting rights because we have a secretary of state who does not believe that it is the responsibility of the secretary of state’s office to break down all barriers to the ballot box,” she said.

  • More from The 19th
    A woman takes a picture with her cellphone during a campaign event for GOP candidates at a restaurant.
  • Why women are setting the new midterms conversation
  • Recruiting the ‘essential workers of democracy’: Group aims to sign up poll workers ahead of midterms

Galvin has defended his handling of the job. During a debate last month, he expressed support for several policies backed by Sullivan, including same-day voter registration (a bill in the legislature has stalled). He also touted his implementation of vote-by-mail and early voting that led to record voter turnout in 2020. Galvin said any low voter turnout in some communities can be tied to limited interest in certain races.

“I do think it is important that we reach out to get people to vote, but we’ve done that,” he said.

Sullivan has also criticized Galvin’s role in a 2016 lawsuit that challenged the state’s then 20-day voter registration cutoff law. Galvin, who was named in the lawsuit, appealed an initial ruling in the case that determined the law was unconstitutional. (The law was later upheld.) Galvin said his actions were due to concerns about administrative logistics but that even then he supported same-day voter registration.

Galvin has emphasized the importance of having a secretary of state with technical experience ahead of the 2024 presidential election, given Republican-led efforts to restrict access to the ballot.

“It’s extremely important we have somebody that knows about elections, knows how to run elections, and could speak to the national issues as the senior Democratic elected official,” he said at the debate.

People holding signs in support of Tanisha Sullivan listen to her speak at the State Democratic Party Convention.
Supporters listen to Tanisha Sullivan during the State Democratic Party Convention in 2022. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe/Getty Images)

Sullivan said she knows there is a lot of attention on other secretary of state races ahead of the midterm election. But she hopes Massachusetts voters will see a compelling argument for shaking up leadership in the office.  

“I believe that we run the risk of finding ourselves in a situation where we are so focused on the states where we’ve got to fight back, that we may find ourselves in a situation where we realize we’re not even advancing,” she said. 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

A woman takes a picture with her cellphone during a campaign event for GOP candidates at a restaurant.

Election 2022

Why women are setting the new midterms conversation

Analysis | Two GOP women pollsters talk about abortion, democracy and the  changing dynamics of this year’s elections.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram