ST. CROIX — A candidate who ran for the position of delegate to Congress during the general election last November after the Virgin Islands Board of Elections voted to place her name back on the ballot following its removal by Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes is seeking $5.5 million in damages in a civil complaint against the supervisor claiming a violation of her constitutional right to seek candidacy for the office of U.S. House of Representatives, according to the complaint.
Ida Smith, a candidate for delegate to Congress who lost the general election to Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett by 8,074 votes, 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.
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 nominated candidate for senator in the general election. Charles was a write-in candidate for senator during the primary election.
Smith indicated in the complaint that Fawkes issued a disqualification letter to her on June 11, 2024 that read in pertinent part, “pursuant to Virgin Islands Code Title 18, Chapter 13, Section 262 and Chapter 17, Section 411(c), your nomination petition for delegate to Congress is disqualified, due to the appearance that you did not meet the inhabitant/residency requirements and your failure to comply with our vetting/investigative request, non-submittal of your current year transcript of tax return, IRS Form 4506-T.”
Section 262 of the VI Code defines residence and domicile, while Section 411(c) outlines the steps required when a nomination paper or certificate is found to be defective.
Smith further indicated in the complaint that she submitted a declaration to Fawkes that included proof of address, land patent, and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases that ruled Congress, states and territories cannot add to the qualifications of the office of U.S. House of Representatives. Smith noted she submitted the cancellation of her voter’s registration in New York that was effective February 2024 to Fawkes on July 25, 2024.
The plaintiffs are requesting the court to enter an order declaring the authority of the supervisor of the Elections System of the Virgin Islands to disqualify a person for the office of the U.S. House of Representatives more than the qualifications listed in the House Qualifications Clause set forth in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution is unlawful. They are seeking an order declaring the ESVI supervisor cannot add to the qualifications for the office of U.S. House of Representatives as written in the U.S. Code, Title 48, Section 1713.
The qualifications outlined in the U.S. Constitution require that candidates running for the office of delegate be at least 25 years old, have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and be an inhabitant of the “state” from which they are elected at the time of election. The same three requirements are listed in Section 1713 of the U.S. Code in addition to a fourth requirement that the person must not be a candidate for any other office on the date of the election. The language in Section 1713 of the U.S. Code is slightly different when it comes to the inhabitant requirement, stating candidates must be an inhabitant of the “territory” from which they are elected.
Fawkes said today that she was following the U.S. Code, Section 1713 when she disqualified Smith because she was not an inhabitant of the Virgin Islands since she was residing in New York. She pointed out Smith listed her New York address when she filed the lawsuit. She said the language in the U.S. Constitution only applies to states, noting the Virgin Islands is a territory.
“I’m happy it’s going to court and hopefully can be resolved so we can get the meaning of the two laws that are conflicting,” Fawkes said. “48 U.S.C., Section 1713 is a federal law, and it applies to Guam and the Virgin Islands. And Guam and the Virgin Islands have been following this law from its inception.”
Attorney General Gordon Rhea, before his nomination was approved by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and he was sworn in as AG, issued a legal opinion upon request from the Board of Elections concluding Smith met the qualifications to seek candidacy for the office of delegate to Congress.
Rhea noted in his legal opinion that eligible candidates for the office of delegate to Congress as outlined in Title 48 of the U.S. Code as well as in the U.S. Constitution must meet three requirements — being at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and an inhabitant of the “state or territory” in which they were elected. He noted a fourth requirement found in the U.S. Code that calls for the person to not be a candidate for any other office on the election date is unique to the U.S. Code and is not included in the Constitution.
Although Fawkes said she disqualified Smith pursuant to the federal law because she was not an inhabitant of the Virgin Islands, Smith has stated that she is domiciled on St. John.
READ MORE: “Board of Elections places Ida Smith on ballot despite Supervisor Fawkes’ rejection of AG’s opinion”
Fawkes has also stated she disqualified Smith because she was registered to vote in New York and the Virgin Islands, informing members of the Board of Elections during a meeting on August 26, 2024 that no U.S. citizen can be registered in two states or territories at the same time.
READ MORE: “Board of Elections delays decision on Ida Smith’s candidacy; meeting marred by confusing motions”
Smith noted in the complaint that Fawkes went on the radio on or about July 18, 2024 to state that she had been disqualified as a candidate for being registered to vote in two locations.
Additionally, the plaintiffs are seeking an order declaring that registered voters of the Virgin Islands have the right to vote by paper ballot and have those votes placed in a ballot box to be counted manually. They are seeking an order requiring Fawkes promptly issue a directive to all Virgin Islands Board of Elections members, staff, and agents instructing them to count paper ballots in accordance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
A group of voters, including plaintiff Peter, alleged a violation of a 61-year-old election law requiring ballot boxes at the polls as they voiced their objections at two voting centers during the general election that resulted in police intervention.
READ MORE: “Voters allege violation of law in ballot box dispute; Fawkes says outdated laws need amending”
The plaintiffs are seeking an order declaring that the provisions of the law to have a separate ballot for the office of U.S. House of Representative be upheld and declaring that the 2024 election for office of the U.S. House of Representatives be decertified for failure to comply with the law of separate ballot. They are seeking an order preliminarily and permanently enjoining Fawkes, her deputies, agents, representatives, and successors in office from applying the provisions of law that violate the U.S. Constitution, Voters Rights Act of 1957, and HAVA.
The plaintiffs are requesting the court enter an order awarding Smith $5.5 million in damages for slander, defamation of character, loss of salary, missed campaign funding opportunities, personal monies used for campaigning, emotional stress, humiliation, and punitive damages. The complaint seeks the court to award decertification of the 2024 election to the 10 plaintiffs named as registered voters. All plaintiffs are seeking additional relief as the interests of justice may require, together with costs and disbursements in maintaining the legal action.
Smith submitted the seven-page complaint, which was filed December 5, 2024 in the District Court for the District of Columbia. She noted in the complaint, which was brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, that the District Court in Washington, D.C. has jurisdiction pursuant to the U.S. Code, Title 52 relating to voting rights, and Title 28 relating to federal question jurisdictional statute and original jurisdiction.
An attempt to contact Smith for comment was unsuccessful, and a message was not returned as of publication time.
