On September 23, the West Virginia Supreme Court refused to take immediate jurisdiction of a lawsuit on whether the state should use one or two ballots in November. The Secretary of State had ruled that there should only be one ballot, which would contain the regularly-scheduled elections, as well as several special elections. An independent candidate had filed a lawsuit in the West Virginia Supreme Court, arguing there should be one ballot for the regularly-scheduled offices, and a separate ballot for the special elections.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party had filed a similar lawsuit in a lower state court. The West Virginia Supreme Court wants the case heard by the lower court first. See this story. The lower court will hear the case on Friday, September 24.
The Ballot Stands for Now
The ballot will remain as is.
On Friday, a Kanawha County Circuit Court judge denied an injunction request from the West Virginia Republican Party.
” I don’t see any indication in this code section that there is a requirement for two ballots.” That was the ruling of Judge Jennifer Bailey in favor of the Secretary of State’s Office.
An attorney for the state GOP argued the Secretary of State should have created two separate ballots, one for the general election and one for the special election to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of the late Robert C. Byrd.
REST OF STORY AT http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=39698