Ahead of a Territorial Board of Elections meeting this week, Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes said Tuesday that, as of now, there will be no casting of the lots on May 31 for a Democratic Primary in August.
Fawkes’ position was detailed in a recent response to the Democratic Party’s Territorial Committee, which sent Fawkes a letter in the wake of testimony she delivered to the Senate about contradictory election laws currently on the books and the need to amend them. Contacted after the party met on May 18, Fawkes said because of the inconsistencies, the casting of the lots was up in the air — but solidified her decision late last week.
Specifically, in its letter, the territorial committee:
- Recognized that the territory’s elections laws, less than six months prior to an election, cannot be amended;
- Clarified that it is the party that will certify the election; and
- Set the expectation that the Election System of the Virgin Islands will run the primary as usual and fund it.
Democratic State Chair Stedmann Hodge Jr. said the party’s position is consistent with a recent District Court order that essentially barred the Board of Elections from deciding how a political party organizes its primary because of overly vague language in the law — but left in place rules mandating a primary election take place in August.
How the primary would be organized, candidates chosen, the number of candidates possible, whether there was time to change the law or circumvent the ruling, and if $250,000 of tax money should go to a primary process in the first place, were all questions debated in a more than three-hour legislative hearing a few weeks ago, where Fawkes said it was not too late to fix the problem by passing new legislation.
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Fawkes said her opinion hasn’t changed, making the May 31 casting of lots irrelevant for now. However, she noted that the board could offer a different opinion during its meeting on Thursday. When asked what happens if a primary isn’t conducted, Fawkes explained that all candidates would move to the General Election ballot. By law, this ballot should only contain seven names from each party, which is particularly relevant this year in the Senate races in both districts and in party office and board races, where more than seven Democrats are running.
