ST. CROIX — A Virgin Islands Board of Elections meeting that began in person Thursday on St. Croix but shifted to a videoconference between districts ended abruptly in chaos and confusion after members walked out, breaking quorum.
Despite repeated efforts to move forward, the meeting was cut short before the members could discuss any agenda items.
Major topics scheduled for discussion included proposed amendments to elections laws — set to be considered at 9:30 a.m. today by the Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection — and Act No. 8690, a 2022 law that made several significant changes to the Elections System, including transferring authority to run elections to the supervisor of Elections from the board.
Chairman Raymond Williams reiterated prior to roll call that the meeting was designated as in person only, in keeping with the board’s prior decision to rotate physical meetings between St. Thomas and St. Croix.
“Only members at this table will be recognized,” he said.
READ MORE: “Virtual meeting dispute deepens rift within Board of Elections ahead of in-person meeting on STX”
However, four board members from the St. Thomas/St. John District joined via videoconference from their district office and requested to be counted as participating members. The videoconferencing system was set up in the Elections System office on St. Thomas to accommodate members of the public who wanted to view the meeting.
There is disagreement among board members about how many are required to establish a quorum, as the law and the board’s bylaws seemingly differ.
Cleopatra Peter, a member from the St. Croix District, pointed out the board’s bylaws call for a quorum of eight, with at least three members from each district.
While the bylaws include that district-based quorum language, the law does not. It only requires a majority of the 14 members to achieve a quorum.
Williams and Harriet Mercer, a member from the St. Thomas/St. John District, both said the law trumps the bylaws.
The meeting proceeded with eight members, including all seven members from St. Croix and one from the St. Thomas/St. John District — Nathan Fletcher. When the roll call got to Peter, she declined to be recognized as present.
“If St. Thomas is not in the meeting, I’m not in the meeting,” she said.
Williams told her she could make a motion to allow the members in the St. Thomas office to participate via videoconference. Peter made the motion, which was voted on by only the eight members present on St. Croix, who were recognized as the official quorum. The motion failed, receiving only two votes in support — from Peter and Kareem Francis.
Francis, who seconded the motion, said he supported it because he agreed with “both sides.” After Peter told him he could not agree with both, he replied that he could speak for himself and explained why he supported the motion.
“I still think we have business that we need to address,” he said.
Francis also explained why he agreed with both sides.
“When I say that I agree with both sides, it’s because I agree that you guys are disrespectful,” he said, noting that members were often disruptive during virtual meetings. “It doesn’t work. When we met the last time, we agreed that we would have in-person meetings, and we would go back and forth.”
Williams suggested that Francis could offer the motion again to allow participation from the four members present in the St. Thomas office — Mercer, Barbara LaRonde, Atanya Springette, and Chaneel Callwood. Lilliana Belardo de O’Neal disagreed with revisiting the motion.
“Mr. Williams, you should have made that motion out of order,” she said.
According to Robert Rules of Order, only a member from the prevailing side of a failed vote can bring a motion to reconsider in the same meeting.
However, Francis, who was on the defeated side of the original motion, was allowed to reintroduce it. Roll call became confusing, as members in the St. Thomas office continuously interrupted even though they were not officially recognized to participate.
“You are not being recognized in St. Thomas,” Williams said. “There is a motion on the floor.”
The motion passed by a vote of 4-3, with one abstention and six members absent. In addition to Peter and Francis, Williams and Cornelius JnBaptiste voted in support. Williams then clarified another roll call would be taken to include the members on St. Thomas.
Before the roll call, the stenographer, who was based on St. Thomas, interrupted the meeting. She expressed concern about her notes, stating she did not understand what was going on.
“Other people are speaking,” she said. “This one is speaking, so I’m just letting you know for the record. So, when you all get the transcript, you know this is what it is.”
Despite the addition of the members on St. Thomas and the establishment of a 12-member quorum, the meeting quickly unraveled.
A motion to adjust the agenda to move up discussion on Act No. 8690 failed in a vote of 5-7. A motion to hold a special meeting to discuss Act No. 8690 failed by a vote of 3-9, leaving the act on the agenda.
As Williams proceeded to move through the agenda, LaRonde interrupted him. He told the members in the St. Thomas office they must raise their hands to be recognized. Mercer then called for a point of order.
“My point of order is that this meeting is totally chaotic and embarrassing,” she said.
Williams interrupted her.
“Oh, come on member Mercer,” he said. “We’re trying to move forward. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You will not. No, no. We’re trying to move the meeting forward. Member Mercer, I’m ruling you out of order.”
Then, a motion by Francis to strike agenda items six through eight — all administrative reports — to focus on Act No. 8690 and the legislation scheduled for hearings Friday, sparked a cascade of objections and procedural confusion.
“We’re breaking quorum,” LaRonde, one of the members who objected to the motion, said.
At that point, all four of the members in the St. Thomas office walked out. Peter then followed suit.
“I’m out,” Peter said. “I need my sanity.”
Williams then requested a roll call. With only seven members present, he adjourned the meeting due to a lack of quorum.
After the meeting, LaRonde said the members in St. Thomas left due to a lack of respect. She objected to the meeting being scheduled as in person only with no virtual access and said members on St. Thomas were shut down when they asked questions or needed clarity due to poor audio.
“The way that the meeting was being ran was disrespectful and very, very much so disruptive,” LaRonde said.
Peter, speaking with WTJX, said Williams should have allowed Mercer to express her point of order.
“He just started screaming after the woman and people are tired of the insults,” she said.
Williams defended his management of the meeting, citing past disorganization and lack of respect among members. He said he wasn’t surprised by the walkout.
“The whole objective was to just put on a show clearly, and that’s what they did,” he said.
Fletcher, the only member from the St. Thomas/St. John District to travel to St. Croix for the meeting, said in a text that he had to take the day off from his small business on St. John, requiring an employee to cover on their day off. He expressed disappointment that members who broke quorum turned the trip into a wasted day for him and others. He added that he believed Williams showed “extreme composure” and offered more respect than he received.
Williams said the Executive Committee will determine the date and location of the board’s next meeting. He anticipates it will be held in person on St. Thomas, continuing the alternating rotation.
“It’s not that I’m against virtually meeting, but the lack of decorum, respect, and members speaking out of turn, interjecting, speaking across other members, just the whole gamut of that makes it impossible to host a meeting,” he said.
This article has been updated to remove a quote attributed to LaRonde — “We should still walk out” — which was made after a motion passed allowing members in the St. Thomas office to participate via videoconference. LaRonde clarified that a member of the audience made the statement.
