ST. CROIX — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has transferred the civil lawsuit former candidate Ida Smith filed against Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes for disqualifying her as a candidate in the 2024 general election to the Virgin Islands from the District Court for the District of Columbia, according to the judge’s transfer order.
District Judge Amir Ali, in a transfer order issued Tuesday, indicated that the District of Columbia was not a proper venue for the case. Ali noted the pro se complaint does not allege that Fawkes resides in Washington, D.C. or that any conduct occurred in that district. The judge further noted that Smith was a candidate in the Virgin Islands, the alleged infirmities took place in the Virgin Islands, and Smith could have sued Fawkes in the District Court of the Virgin Islands.
Smith, who unsuccessfully ran for delegate to Congress in the 2024 general election, filed a lawsuit against Fawkes on December 5, 2024 after the supervisor removed her name from the ballot. Smith was allowed to run for the federal office after the Virgin Islands Board of Elections voted to place her name back on the ballot. She is seeking $5.5 million in damages in a civil complaint against Fawkes, claiming a violation of her constitutional right to seek candidacy for the office of U.S. House of Representatives.
The judge noted that a plaintiff has the burden to establish venue. Smith argued in her complaint that venue was proper in Washington, D.C. because she ran for a federal position. However, Ali indicated that Smith did not cite authority that running for a federal position alone supports venue. If a case is filed in the wrong district, the judge noted that the District Court “shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.” The judge noted that the decision whether to transfer or dismiss “rests within the sound discretion of the District Court,” but that transferring a case is the “standard remedy,” especially when the plaintiff is pro se.
Smith is one of 11 plaintiffs seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against Fawkes, named as a defendant in her official capacity. The complaint includes 10 named registered voters of the Virgin Islands who claim they were denied their constitutional right to vote for the candidate of their choice as well as to vote by paper ballot during the 2024 election.
The complaint alleges the named registered voters attempted to vote by paper ballot by placing their ballots in a bin but were told by officials at the polling locations to place their ballots in a tabulator. According to the complaint, these voters were “coerced” into placing their paper ballots in a tabulator at the threat of being denied the ability to vote, with one voter being “handcuffed and detained by police” and others being threatened with the same.
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In addition to Smith, the other plaintiffs are Ann Williams, Chrystalia Petersen, Melissa Sylvester, Kimbra Willett, Lawrence Nielsen, Fabiola Richards Poleon, Barbara LaRonde, Cleopatra Peter, Collister Fahie, and Cheryl Charles. LaRonde and Peter were both elected to the Board of Elections during the general election. Fahie was a candidate for senator in the general election. Charles was a write-in candidate for senator during the primary election.
READ MORE: Ida Smith seeks $5.5M in lawsuit against Fawkes for removing her name from general election ballot
Although Smith’s pro se complaint identifies other registered voters as plaintiffs, Ali noted it was signed by only Smith. He clarified that an unrepresented litigant not appearing as an attorney cannot represent others in litigation, so each unrepresented litigant must individually sign each pleading. Accordingly, the judge construed the complaint as raising claims only on Smith’s behalf, without prejudice to curing the issue at the discretion of the receiving court.
Fawkes moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing both that Smith lacked a private cause of action to sue and that the District of Columbia was an improper venue for the lawsuit. The judge denied the motion as moot without prejudice, so it can be refiled upon transfer of the case to the Virgin Islands.
