John W. Butts v. Susan Bysiewicz

Summary

The court held that the statutory deadline for filing a party-endorsement certificate is mandatory and that the Secretary of the State has no discretion to accept or give effect to a certificate received after the deadline. The court also held that equitable authority cannot be used to compel the Secretary to place the candidate on the ballot in direct contravention of that statutory mandate. The trial court's denial of injunctive relief was therefore affirmed.