CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Political aspirants have until 6 p.m. today to file nomination papers and petitions for the upcoming election, but confusion and controversy remains over whether the Elections System is required to conduct party primaries.
At a Senate hearing on May 13, Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes said the Elections System needs legislation to guide their actions, citing a January District Court ruling that certain sections of the territory’s elections law are unconstitutional.
The Casting of Lots is scheduled for May 31, and the primaries had been set for August, but “unless we receive laws addressing the primary, this will have to be postponed or canceled,” Fawkes said.
Virgin Islands Democratic Committee State Chairman Stedmann Hodge Jr. said Monday that following the ruling by Chief Judge Robert Molloy, Democrats called an emergency meeting and created an ad hoc committee with Ashley Scotland as chairman.
Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes
The party had a quarterly territorial committee meeting planned, but “what caught us off guard was the hearing at the Legislature,” so the committee had an emergency meeting Wednesday and reported to the executive committee Thursday, before the full committee met Saturday and voted to forward correspondence to Fawkes today.
The letter “will identify that we’re recognizing the fact that our local election laws cannot be amended with less than six months before an election,” and they’re asking the Elections System to run and pay for the primary, Hodge said.
Molloy’s opinion does not say “that the Elections System cannot run an election,” for party or public officials, only that they cannot certify or reject the process or results, and the party wants the Elections System to forward a list of candidates elected in the primary to the committee for certification, Hodge said.
In terms of the legislation, Senate President Novelle Francis Jr. said Monday that, “We are scheduled to meet as a majority caucus to strategize on the issue,” and the Legislature could take action to address “vagueness concerns brought to light by Chief Judge Molloy.”
Hodge agreed that senators “should be able to clarify it,” but “they should not pass any legislation that is going to determine how the election should be run.”
Virgin Islands Republican Party Chairman John Yob did not respond to requests for comment from a reporter.
But according to documents obtained by The Daily News, Yob sent a letter to Fawkes after the hearing on May 14, explaining that the party “is concerned that voters will be disenfranchised if (1) no primary election is held and (2) candidates nominated through alternative, political party-run processes are not placed on the 2024 general election ballot as the lawful and legitimate nominees of their political party.”
Yob said the party “is prepared to administer its own process to nominate Republican candidates for federal and territorial offices in the 2024 general election,” but asked for confirmation that only party nominees would appear on the General Election ballot.
Fawkes responded in a letter dated May 18 that the Elections System “does not conduct Primary Election for the registered Republican candidates,” and last did so in 2014 “with a very low turnout.”
She cited Title 18, Section 359, which states that no party primary shall be conducted for public offices unless the number of candidates of a party is greater than the number of people the party may nominate to run.
For a candidate to appear on the General Election ballot, the nomination forms and petitions prescribed by the Supervisor of Elections should be signed and turned in by the deadline of 6 p.m. today, “and await further guidance. There will be time for the Republican Party of the Virgin Islands to take the necessary steps to ensure their Aspirants are on the 2024 General Election Ballot,” according to the letter.
“If more candidates file nomination petition than the required number seat(s), you will be duly notified,” Fawkes added.
The last day to register to vote is October 6, early voting is from October 14 through 28, and Election Day is on November 5, according to the letter, which said more information is available at elections offices and vivote.gov.
The deadline to file nomination forms and petitions is 6 p.m. today, and according to a press release, “Delegates to the Sixth Constitutional Convention must also obtain their nomination papers by the above deadline. The Nomination Petitions and Papers will be available for pick up at the Elections Offices territory wide. Office locations are open today as follows:
• St. Croix Elections Office, Sunny Isle Shopping Center, Unit 26, First Floor, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• St. Thomas Elections Office- Lockhart Gardens, Upstairs Banco Popular, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• St. John Elections Office, Market Place Suite II, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
By SUZANNE CARLSON/V.I. Daily News