ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Board of Elections has missed the statutory deadline to certify the results of the August 1 primary election, leaving the election officially uncertified even as candidates moved forward Tuesday with another step in the election process: drawing for their positions on the November general election ballot during casting of lots.
The delay comes after differences as to whether the Board of Elections or the Office of the Supervisor of Elections is responsible for certifying the results following changes to Virgin Islands election law.
WTJX caught up with St. Croix Deputy Supervisor of Elections Terrell Alexandre at the casting of the lots and he confirmed that the Board had not yet certified the primary election as of Tuesday.
“As of today, we have three members in each district who have signed off on the certification report and we need a quorum to certify the election,” he said.
According to Alexandre, Board Chair Raymond Williams, Cornelius JnBaptiste and Cleopatra Peter have signed the certification report in the St. Croix District. In the St. Thomas-St. John District, he said Barbara LaRonde, Lydia Hendricks and Shikima Jones-Sprauve have signed. He said two additional board members must sign the report to reach a quorum and certify the results.
Under Virgin Islands law, election results must be certified within 15 days. Because the primary election was held August 1, that deadline has already passed.
“Hopefully, the Board will certify it sooner than later,” Alexandre said, adding that he was unsure what ramifications, if any, could result from missing the deadline.
The certification issue followed uncertainty over whether the Elections System of the Virgin Islands or the Board of Elections was responsible for completing the process.
The 2024 election cycle marked the first time the Office of the Supervisor of Elections conducted elections and certified the results following a 2022 amendment to Virgin Islands election law that shifted those responsibilities from the Board of Elections.
Alexandre said Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes had intended to sign off on the certification report for this year’s primary election. However, he said the Board of Elections voted August 11 to certify the results itself.
In an August 16 Facebook Live, Peter shared details about the vote. She said she hadn't attended the meeting where board members counted the last provisional ballots, but got a call urging her to get there ASAP. When she arrived, members were discussing certification of the election results.
Peter said she had spoken with At-Large Senator Angel Bolques — a former Elections System employee — and asked him who certifies the elections. She said he told her the Board certifies the elections. She said, however, that Fawkes certified the 2024 election. She said she thinks the Board isn’t doing its job, leaving Fawkes to also do the board’s job, and that if the Board isn’t working, it should be dissolved.
LaRonde then moved to continue counting ballots and have the Board certify the election, Peter said. She said she and Epiphane Joseph seconded the motion. She said after hearing no objections, Williams said the motion was carried.
However, WTJX obtained a formal legal opinion issued Tuesday by Attorney General Gordon Rhea that clarifies that authority. The opinion, an apparent response to a request by Fawkes, concluded that Act No. 8690 transferred canvassing and certification duties directly to the supervisor of elections under the Virgin Islands Code, Title 18, Section 4(b)(16), effectively repealing the Board’s authority to certify results in the first instance.
Rhea noted that while statutory references to the Board’s past authority remained in Section 47, allowing both bodies dual certification powers would lead to potential conflicts and confusion in core election activities. Consequently, the attorney general determined that the Virgin Islands Code now vests sole authority to certify elections in the supervisor, subject to the Board’s general supervisory oversight and its role as an appellate body should a candidate appeal a certification decision.
Despite the lack of a certification, the Elections System proceeded with the casting of lots for the November 3 general election because the unofficial winners of the primary did not change after all ballots, including absentee ballots, were counted, Alexandre said.
It is not clear at this time how certification will proceed as a result of the AG’s opinion.
The casting of lots determines the order in which candidates will appear on the general election ballot.
All voters in the territory will vote for one gubernatorial team, one delegate to Congress, and one at-large senator. Voters in each district will also elect seven senators, three members of the Board of Elections and two members of the Board of Education. In the St. Thomas-St. John District, however, the three Board of Elections seats are divided between two members from St. Thomas and one member from St. John.
Candidates either drew their own ballot positions, sent certified representatives to do so or had Elections System staff pull numbers on their behalf.
In the gubernatorial race, Adlah Donastorg and running mate Positive Nelson, both independents and former senators, are at No. 1. Warren Mosler and Colin Robertson, also independents, are at No. 2, while Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett and Senate President Milton Potter, the Democratic nominees, are at No. 3. Independent candidates Oakland Benta and Merwin Potter are at No. 4, followed by Gustav James and Randolph Bennett, also independents, at No. 5.
In the race for delegate to Congress, former Senator Janelle Sarauw, the Democratic nominee, is at No. 1, while independent candidate Shelley Moorhead is at No. 2. For the at-large Senate seat, Senator Angel Bolques Jr., the Democratic nominee, is at No. 1, while independent candidate Hadiya Sewer is at No. 2.
In the St. Croix senatorial race, Nemmy Williams-Jackson, a Democrat, is at No. 3, followed by Senator Clifford Joseph, a Democrat, at No. 4; independent candidate Bianca Francis at No. 5; independent Elizabeth Hansen Watley at No. 6; independent Tyler Courtland Fay at No. 7; independent Luz C.A. Browne at No. 8; Democrat Jose Gonzalez at No. 9; independent Troy Williams Sr. at No. 10; Senator Kenneth Gittens, a Democrat, at No. 11; independent Julian Veira at No. 12; independent Mutasem Mustafa at No. 13; Senator Kurt Vialet, a Democrat, at No. 14; former Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, an independent, at No. 15; independent former Senator Samuel Carrión at No. 16; independent Alvin Milligan at No. 17; independent Troy Mason at No. 18; independent Diane Prosper at No. 19; independent Raymond James at No. 20; former Senator Norman Jn Baptiste, an independent, at No. 21; Senator Hubert Frederick, a Democrat, at No. 22; independent Gage Edmunds at No. 23; Democrat Lisa Charles at No. 24; independent Senator Franklin Johnson at No. 25; and independent Jay Watson at No. 26.
The St. Thomas/St. John senatorial ballot begins with independent Gregory Smith at No. 3, followed by independent Senator Dwayne DeGraff at No. 4; independent Krishna Kilaru at No. 5; Republican Eric Tillet at No. 6; Democratic Senator Avery Lewis at No. 7; independent Vernon Araujo at No. 8; Democrat Joel Browne Connors at No. 9; Democratic Senator Ray Fonseca at No. 10; independent Sennai Habtes at No. 11; Democrat Rudel Hodge Jr. at No. 12; independent Imani Daniel at No. 13; Democrat Shenelle Francis at No. 14; independent Senator Alma Francis Heyliger at No. 15; Republican Derrick Callwood at No. 16; independent Paula Duke at No. 17; independent Eugene Farrell at No. 18; Democratic Senator Carla Joseph at No. 19; Republican Collister Fahie at No. 20; Independent Citizens Movement (ICM) candidate David Sierra at No. 21; and Democratic Senator Marvin Blyden at No. 22.
For the three St. Croix Board of Elections seats, independent Juliet Liburd is at No. 1, Republican Franz Christian Jr., a current board member, is at No. 2, current board member Kareem Francis, an independent, is at No. 3, independent Mary Moorhead is at No. 4, and Democrat Shamari Haynes is at No. 5.
For the two St. Thomas seats on the Board of Elections, Democrat Barbara Petersen is at No. 3, Democrat Kevin Rodriguez is at No. 4, and Republican Harriet Mercer is at No. 5. For the single St. John seat, Democrat Preston Evans is at No. 1, and independent Raven Phillips is at No. 2.
In the St. Croix Board of Education race, independent Vincent H.A. Gordon Jr. is at No. 1, independent Lucy Jackson is at No. 2, sitting member Winona Hendricks, a Democrat, is at No. 3, and sitting member Terrence Joseph, also a Democrat, is at No. 4.
For the two St. Thomas/St. John Board of Education seats, sitting member Arah Lockhart, a Democrat, is at No. 1, independent Bruce Flamon is at No. 2, and sitting member Judy Gomez, a Democrat, is at No. 3.
