ST. CROIX — Independent political aspirant Jed JohnHope, who was disqualified from the race for delegate to Congress after failing to collect the required number of nomination signatures, filed a federal lawsuit today alleging constitutional violations by Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes and Virgin Islands Board of Elections Chair Raymond Williams.
According to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Terri Griffiths, JohnHope submitted his nomination papers in the St. Croix District on May 19 and was told by Elections System employees Tricia Johnson and St. Croix Deputy Supervisor of Elections Terrell Alexandre that Fawkes would issue a Notice of Defect and that he would have three days to submit additional signatures after receiving the notice.
JohnHope alleges that Fawkes never issued the notice required under Title 18, Section 411(c) of the Virgin Islands Code.
The statute provides that when a nomination petition, nomination paper, or nomination certificate is found to be defective, the candidate must be notified immediately by special messenger and informed of the reasons for the defect. The candidate then has three days to file a corrected petition or be disqualified.
JohnHope claims that Fawkes ignored the statute and issued a press release announcing his disqualification. WTJX broke the story of JohnHope’s disqualification. The station did not learn of the decision through a press release, but rather through its own reporting after contacting the Elections System and requesting public information. He appealed the decision to the Virgin Islands Board of Elections, which upheld the disqualification.
The lawsuit alleges that Fawkes provided statutory Notices of Defect and three-day cure periods to four other aspirants — Troy Williams, Brett McClafferty, James Weber III, and Jaylen Gabriel.
After receiving a Notice of Defect, Troy Williams refiled his petition and election officials qualified him as an independent candidate for the St. Croix Senate race.
While McClafferty, Weber, and Gabriel submitted the requisite number of signatures on their nomination petitions, election officials later determined that an insufficient amount were from valid registered voters and issued Notices of Defect.
McClafferty, who sought the delegate seat, was later disqualified after the Elections System determined that signatures on his nomination papers had been obtained through misrepresentation. Weber, a former senator seeking the delegate seat, was initially disqualified for filing in the wrong district, but after the Board of Elections weighed his appeal, it voted to treat the issue as a defect, giving him three days to correct. After refiling, Weber received a Notice of Defect requiring additional valid signatures but failed to meet the requirement and was disqualified again. Gabriel also received a Notice of Defect but was disqualified after failing to return his nomination papers. Fawkes told the board that he had decided not to pursue public office.
The board upheld JohnHope’s disqualification after Fawkes’ said he submitted nomination papers containing 28 signatures from the St. Thomas/St. John District and 3 signatures from St. Croix, far short of the 100 required from each district. Fawkes cited an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General concluding that the deficiency could not be cured after the filing deadline because the signatures were never obtained.
The lawsuit alleges that election officials intentionally excluded JohnHope because he is an independent candidate, not a member of the Democratic Party, and because of his outspoken criticism of government corruption. The suit describes him as a “watchdog,” not a “lapdog.”
As support for that claim, the lawsuit cites a March 9, 2021, letter JohnHope wrote while serving as vice chair of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority board. In the letter, addressed to then-board Chair Anthony Thomas, JohnHope objected to what he described as “ongoing corruption involving inflated contracts, bribes solicited and obtained from contractors by WAPA executives, sham leases, and WAPA’s complete lack of transparency.” The lawsuit states that JohnHope later resigned from the board because of WAPA’s alleged culture of corruption and lack of transparency.
The suit further alleges that a high-ranking official in the Bryan/Roach administration warned JohnHope not to seek public office and threatened to bully him if he pursued a political campaign. The suit did not name the alleged bully.
JohnHope argues that the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent prohibit rules and practices that unfairly restrict independent candidates’ access to the ballot. He contends that election officials violated both Title 18, Section 411(c), and his constitutional rights to procedural due process and equal protection by denying him a Notice of Defect and an opportunity to cure while providing those opportunities to other candidates.
In Count I, alleging constitutional violations, JohnHope asked the court to declare that election officials were required to provide him with a Notice of Defect and a three-day cure period under Section 411(c). He seeks prospective injunctive relief barring defendants from interfering with his constitutional rights and statutory damages for what he describes as knowing and intentional violations of both the Virgin Islands Code and his constitutional protections.
In Count II, JohnHope alleges an intentional violation of federal law governing elections for delegate to Congress. He contends that federal law requires a separate ballot for the delegate race and alleges that election officials have openly stated their intention to disregard that requirement.
According to the lawsuit, Fawkes publicly stated on June 5 that the federal statute was discriminatory and would not be followed. The Board of Elections subsequently upheld her position, the suit alleges. JohnHope later requested reconsideration through Raymond Williams, but the board and its chairman have not responded.
In both Counts I and II, JohnHope seeks a declaratory judgment that the defendants are required to print separate ballots for territorial candidates and federal candidates according to federal and territorial law. JohnHope also seeks statutory damages and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Troy Williams had been disqualified from running for office. Williams was not disqualified. WTJX regrets the error.
