Judge Reserves Ruling on Elections Supervisor’s Authority to Sue, Preliminary Injunction
A Superior Court judge on Monday held off on granting Elections System of the Virgin Islands Supervisor Caroline Fawkes a preliminary injunction against the Virgin Islands Elections Board amid a dispute over Delegate to Congress candidate Ida Smith’s eligibility.
2024-11-05 12:06:47 - VI News Staff
Judge Yvette Ross Edwards gave Fawkes one week to add Smith to her lawsuit after agreeing with an attorney representing the Elections Board that Smith had a significant interest in the case’s outcome. “As such, this hearing cannot and will not proceed today,” she said. Fawkes disqualified Smith’s candidacy last summer, claiming the Independent challenger to incumbent Del. Stacey Plaskett failed to meet residency requirements because she was registered to vote in both the U.S. Virgin Islands and the state of New York. The Elections Board overruled that disqualification on Sept. 4 and placed Smith on the ballot after soliciting a legal opinion from then Attorney General-nominee Gordon Rhea.
Fawkes claimed in a complaint filed on Oct. 17 that the board usurped her authority as supervisor of Elections and acted illegally. Her attorney filed a motion on Oct. 28 requesting a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction and declaratory relief. Ross Edwards denied the request for a temporary restraining order — or TRO — on Thursday, finding that Fawkes would not be “irreparably harmed” without one and that issuing one days before the general election would not be in the public interest.