ST. CROIX — A member of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections questioned the 2022 law during the newly-elected board’s first quarterly meeting Thursday that switched the authority to conduct elections to the supervisor of the Elections System of the Virgin Islands from the board.
Cleopatra Peter, who was elected to the board for her first term during the general election last November, was not provided with the section of the law during the meeting that made the change.
A concern was also raised by a resident in attendance during the public comment segment at the end of the two-and-a-half-hour meeting regarding the legitimacy of the board’s standing committees that were announced during the meeting after reading the board’s bylaws.
The meeting, which was attended by board members in person in both districts and virtually, began with contention that continued until the end. Raymond Williams, board chair, struggled to maintain order throughout the entire meeting.
The board voted 11 to 1, with two abstentions to approve a motion to hold a special meeting to dissolve complaints filed by Mary Moorhead and Ann Williams.
After a half an hour of back and forth, Raymond Williams welcomed all the board members to the meeting. He announced that all board meetings would be transparent and conducted with decorum, noting the board members would show each other respect. He said every member has a vote, and the majority would always prevail.
The board chair proceeded to discuss the board’s standing committees. He noted Lawrence Boschulte would chair the Governance Committee. A motion to instead have Peter chair the committee failed by a vote of 5 to 6, with three abstentions. Raymond Williams then appointed Cornelius Jason JnBaptiste as chair of the Governance Committee since Boschulte was not willing to serve in that capacity.
Raymond Williams will chair the Finance Committee. Florine Audain-Hassell will chair the Personnel Committee. Kareem Francis will chair the Education/Town Halls Committee. Shikima Jones-Sprauve will chair the Strategic Planning Committee. The board also voted 9 to 3, with two abstentions to create a Grievance and Resolution Committee to be chaired by Harriet Mercer.
When it came time for Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes to read her report, Audain-Hassell moved to waive the reading of the report to save time, noting it was 4:30 p.m. and a copy of the report was sent to all board members. The meeting started shortly after 3 p.m. Michael Joseph moved to amend the motion to clarify the supervisor’s report must be released to members of the press. There was no objection to the amendment, so it was ordered. The motion as amended was approved by a vote of 8 to 3, with two abstentions.
Each board member then had three minutes to question Fawkes about her report. Questions were only asked by three members — Peter, Mercer, and Barbara LaRonde. Peter noted Fawkes testified before the Legislature of the Virgin Islands on August 11, 2023 that the 2024 election cycle would be the first time the Office of the Supervisor of Elections would solely execute the election cycle. Peter said, however, the Board of Elections has jurisdiction over elections in the Virgin Islands Code. She noted the discrepancy, asking if Fawkes or the board oversaw running elections. Raymond Williams said the Office of the Supervisor of Elections is now in charge of running elections. Fawkes concurred, noting the law was amended by Act No. 8690. She said the VI Code has not been updated to reflect the new law. Peter disagreed with the supervisor’s interpretation of Act No. 8690.
“Nowhere does it say that the supervisor has jurisdiction over primary and general elections,” Peter said, questioning where in Title 18 of the VI Code the language is found. “I would like to see that.”
Raymond Williams said he would share the section with her, but he was not able to open it on his computer.
After Peter’s time expired, she requested a point of inquiry later in the meeting to seek clarification on the language included in Act No. 8690. She noted Raymond Williams and the former board chair, Alecia Wells, wrote a letter to the attorney general asking for clarification on the act. Raymond Williams said he has not yet received a response from the attorney general despite following up with a second letter.
“We still have not received back from the attorney general the response for clarification as to the powers and duties of the supervisor versus the board,” he said.
Peter continued to question where she could find the language in Act No. 8690 that gave the supervisor authority to conduct elections.
“Nowhere does it give Fawkes authority to conduct elections, and if it is, I would like her to indicate,” she said.
Fawkes said she would provide the information to the board members.
Mercer moved to have Attorney General Gordon Rhea be present at the board’s next meeting. Raymond Williams indicated the AG would not respond to any inquiries during meetings. He asked if anybody from the Office of the Attorney General was online during the meeting, but nobody responded.
The board attempted to go into executive session to entertain a question LaRonde had relating to a personnel and legal matter, but technical difficulties with the virtual settings prevented that from happening. As the meeting continued, Moorhead had an opportunity to speak during the public comment segment.
Moorhead raised a concern about the board’s bylaws as it relates to the standing committees. She noted Article 15 of the bylaws required that committee members shall be selected by the chair and serve subject to the approval of the board.
“This membership did not approve the committees as they were assigned, so that is why you had the question about the establishment if you were ratified,” she said. “You are not.”
Peter asked the chair during the meeting if the board had been ratified. He said he did not understand her question, noting the board members were elected and sworn in.
Moorhead also suggested to include a public comment period as a regular agenda item. She suggested the board discriminated against the public by not providing attendees with copies of the supervisor’s report in addition to the press. LaRonde then moved to disseminate the supervisor’s report to anybody present at the meetings in both districts. There was no objection to her motion, so it was ordered by the chair. The supervisor’s report was then circulated to all attendees.
Francis then moved to adjourn, but Peter asked for a point of order.
“We still have not ratified the board,” she said.
Raymond Williams noted a motion to adjourn was on the floor. There were no objections to the motion. Rather than adjourning the meeting, the chair held it in recess.
“The meeting is not being adjourned,” he said. “It will be held in recess until the call of the chair.”
