Chief Judge for the U.S. District of the Virgin Islands Wilma Lewis issued a temporary restraining order Friday, blocking the election system from disqualifying independent gubernatorial candidate Soraya Diase Coffelt and Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Canegata from running together.
The judge’s order is online here.
The V.I. Elections Office rejected the nominating petition for lieutenant governor candidate Canegata two weeks ago, saying that as a registered Republican he cannot legally run on a nonpartisan ticket with independent Coffelt, giving Canegata three days to resubmit.
Coffelt and Canegata declined to resubmit, instead challenging the ruling in court. In a Tuesday hearing the two asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order to allow their candidacy to move forward while they await the court’s final ruling on the dispute.
Representing the V.I. Election System in court Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs cited the same passage of V.I. law Fawkes cited in disqualifying the two, saying "any person running for public office must run as a candidate consistent with the political party designation under which the candidate is registered at the time of the filing of the nomination petition."
During Tuesday’s hearing, Lewis suggested that passage of law specifically applied to filing nomination petitions for running in a partisan primary, while those not running in a primary, such as independents, are addressed in a different passage of the law, for filing nomination papers, rather than petitions. Lewis also asked Thomas-Jacobs for specific language in the law forbidding a partisan from running with an independent on an independent ticket. Thomas Jacobs replied that the statute is not explicit but must be interpreted that way to avoid chaos and voter confusion.
In Lewis’ opinion explaining her order, Friday, she said Coffelt and Canegata had met each of the four factors needed for injunctive relief: a reasonable probability of success in the underlying case; irreparable injury if the relief is denied; the absence of greater harm caused by granting the injunction and whether the relief is in the public interest.
Lewis said the plaintiffs had a reasonable chance of success, saying they "contend that there is no statutory basis for the reasons stated" for disqualifying them, "namely, that Canegata, as a registered Republican, is prohibited from running for lieutenant governor “with a No Party candidate,” and that Coffelt is prohibited from running for governor with a running mate that is not of “like Independent party.""
Lewis said the court "is unconvinced that the plain language of the statutory provisions upon which Defendants rely stand for the propositions that Defendants assert as the bases for disqualifying the Coffelt/Canegata team. Specifically, the Court is not persuaded that the statutory provisions, as written, forbid a registered member of a political party – who is not a political party candidate for public office, and thus not the subject of a nomination petition for such office – from running for such office outside of the primary election process."
She also determined that Coffelt and Canegata would likely suffer irreparable harm to their campaign if the disqualification remained in place, while there is not a greater harm to the election system if it is overturned. And that furthering open dialogue and greater participation in elections served the public interest.
The TRO allows the pair to continue as candidates until the court considers additional written arguments and reaches a final decision. It is not the final ruling in the case and it is possible the two will ultimately be disqualified. However, in issuing the TRO, Lewis is suggesting Coffelt and Canegata’s case against disqualification is likely to succeed.
