ST. CROIX — Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes filed a lawsuit Thursday in Superior Court to disqualify Ida Smith’s nomination petition for delegate to Congress after the Virgin Islands Board of Elections “illegally” voted to add Smith to the general election ballot even though Fawkes determined she did not meet the qualifications established by law for the office, according to the lawsuit.
Fawkes, in her civil complaint filed by McChain Hamm & Associates, indicated Virgin Islands law provides that only the supervisor of elections can determine whether a candidate meets the qualifications established by law for the office for election or nomination.
The supervisor of elections requested the court to enter an order enjoining the members of the Board of Elections from determining whether a candidate meets the qualifications for election or nomination, as well as from adding a candidate to the ballot after being disqualified.
Fawkes further requested the court to declare that the supervisor of elections has the sole authority to determine a candidate’s qualifications as valid or invalid, pursuant to the Virgin Islands Code, Title 18, Section 411(b).
The 14-member Board of Elections has attempted to upend the required, statutory process for determining a candidate for election, according to the lawsuit, which indicates the BOE cannot add a candidate to the ballot after being disqualified by the supervisor of elections.
The factual allegations outlined in the lawsuit indicate Smith nominated herself on May 21 to be a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Virgin Islands. The Elections System of the Virgin Islands in the St. Thomas/St. John District issued Smith a notice of inquiry on June 2, requesting documentation to ascertain her proof as an inhabitant of the territory. The notice of inquiry stated Smith must obtain her transcript of tax return and submit it to the Elections System by 5 p.m. on June 10.
Smith shared an email with ESVI on June 7 from the Internal Revenue Service that stated Form 4506-T cannot be sent via fax and will not be released to a third party. As the guidelines at the top of the form indicate only the taxpayer is authorized to request the information, Fawkes emailed Smith on June 8 requesting that she, as the taxpayer, request the tax transcript to submit to ESVI. Smith did not do so by the June 10 deadline, according to the lawsuit.
The Elections System mailed a disqualification letter to Smith on June 11 that indicated her nomination petition was disqualified pursuant to two sections in Title 18 of the VI Code, Sections 262 and 411, due to the appearance that she did not meet the inhabitant/residency requirements and because she failed to comply with the vetting/investigative request by not submitting her transcript of tax return.
Section 262 provides that a “resident of the Virgin Islands” is a person who has maintained legal residence in the Virgin Islands and in the election district in which the person desires to vote for a period of at least 90 days next preceding the date of the election. Section 411 gives the supervisor of elections the discretion to determine whether candidates are validly nominated.
Fawkes, in her representative capacity as supervisor of elections, filed the complaint against the nine Board of Elections members who voted in support of a motion to place Smith on the ballot during a meeting held on September 4.
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The board members named as defendants are Kareem Francis, Lisa Harris-Moorhead, Shikima Jones-Sprauve, Epiphane Joseph, Angeli Leerdam, Harriet Mercer, Lilliana Belardo de O’Neal, Atanya Springette, and Raymond Williams.
Fawkes, who indicated in the complaint that she acted within her statutory authority to disqualify Smith, alleges that the BOE therefore acted illegally in violation of the VI Code, Title 18 and without authority when it held the meeting to vote on whether to add Smith’s name on the ballot. She alleges the BOE did not have the authority or right to vote to add Smith to the ballot, let alone the authority or right to add her to the ballot.
Fawkes requested a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction, and declaratory relief. She further requested any other relief the court deems necessary or proper.
