AG's office urges court to dismiss lawsuit by supervisor of Elections
A lawsuit filed by Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes “cherry picks” sections of the law establishing her authority to determine which candidates are eligible to appear on the ballot, but another section “makes it abundantly clear that buck stops with the Board of Elections,” according to a response filed by attorney Christopher Timmons, Acting Chief of the V.I. Justice Department’s Civil Division.
2024-10-31 16:36:11 - VI News Staff
Fawkes filed the lawsuit on Oct. 17, after a majority of board members voted to add Ida Smith to the ballot as a candidate for Delegate to Congress. The defendants, “acted illegally” by adding Smith to the ballot after Fawkes determined she was not qualified to be a candidate, according to her the complaint. Smith is an Independent challenging incumbent Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat, but Fawkes disqualified her from the ballot after saying she was registered to vote in both New York and the Virgin Islands. The Board of Elections held an emergency meeting in August and heard from Smith, who strenuously disputed Fawkes’s version of events, and has repeatedly insisted she is duly qualified.
The attorney representing Fawkes, Mally Rutherford of McChain Hamm & Associates, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order Monday, asking the court to issue an injunction barring the board from determining a candidate’s qualifications and adding a candidate to the ballot. Timmons filed a 13-page response, arguing that Fawkes does not have the authority to retain private counsel and sue the board in her official capacity.