Elections Board Overrules Supervisor’s Disqualification of Candidate, Adds Ida Smith to General Election Ballot

During a hastily called meeting on Wednesday, the V.I. Elections Board, following heated debate, voted to reinstate Ida Smith as a candidate for the upcoming Nov. 5 election, despite her prior disqualification by the Supervisor of Elections.

On Aug. 27 and 29, the board voted to get more information about a dispute over Smith’s disqualification as a candidate for Delegate to Congress. According to Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes, Smith was registered to vote in New York and the Virgin Islands when she submitted her application, which disqualified her as a candidate. Later, the Elections staff submitted paperwork to New York to remove her as a voter, Fawkes said.

Smith, an Independent residing on St. John, is challenging Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat, for the Washington, D.C. position. She has maintained the qualifications for Delegate are age (25 years or older), being a U.S. citizen for at least seven years and a resident of the state or territory for which they hope to be elected.

Board members had a hard time agreeing on anything Wednesday — even how much time to devote to an executive session to discuss the opinion from Attorney General nominee Gordon Rhea, received earlier in the day. After the agreed 40 minutes, Chairwoman Alicia Wells announced that no votes were taken during the executive session.