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Election deadline mix-up stirs confusion in portsmouth by 123wert sdfsf
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Election deadline mix-up stirs confusion in portsmouth |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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By Dave Forster The Virginian-Pilot June 7, 2012 PORTSMOUTH A mix-up has surfaced over the filing deadline for City Councilcandidates seeking election this fall, calling into questionwhether those who haven"t yet filed are still eligible torun. The discrepancy lies between the publicly advertised June 12deadline and provisions in the city charter that refer to a cut-offdate one week earlier, on the first Tuesday of the month. State andlocal officials are investigating. In the meantime, a state policyanalyst has advised the local registrar to proceed with the laterdate, and a state legislator has called the earlier date anoversight in the law. The conflicting, earlier deadline was added to the city charter in2011 when the General Assembly approved a request by the CityCouncil to move local elections to November.
The languagewasn"t brought to the attention of election officials untilWednesday, when two attorneys called the registrar"s officeinquiring about it, said Deloris Overton Short, the city"sgeneral registrar. State law sets the second Tuesday in June as the filing deadlinefor a general election in November, and that"s whatShort"s office has been advertising. A city"s chartercan take precedence over state law, however. Four of seven City Council seats, including the mayor"s spot,are up for election this fall. The incumbents and two challengershad filed for candidacy by the earlier deadline, but at least onechallenger who plans to run has not: former Councilwoman ElizabethPsimas.
"My heart just stopped," Psimas said of her reactionwhen she heard of a potentially earlier deadline. The language itself is cause for confusion. It says candidates mustsubmit their petition of 125 signatures by the "closing ofthe polls on the first Tuesday in June of the year of theelection." The only polls that close regularly in June in Virginia are primaryelections, on the second Tuesday. When the city"s charter was revised in 2011, the first draftfiled with the General Assembly did not include a change toNovember elections or a reference to a filing deadline of the firstTuesday in June.
The changes came in a substitute bill approved ina committee chaired by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth. Lucas saidThursday that the intent was always for the deadline to be thesecond Tuesday, as it is in other cities. "I think it was just an inadvertent oversight," shesaid.
"There would be no reason for it to be different inPortsmouth." Lucas said she did not know who was responsible for the wording. A commission of residents and lawyers reviewed almost all therevisions to the charter before it went to Richmond. But the draftthey produced, and which the City Council unanimously approved, didnot include the November election move or a June filing deadline. Anote in the draft says revisions will be necessary if elections aremoved to November. City Attorney Tim Oksman assisted in the charter revision process,which also was overseen by staff from the state"s Division ofLegislative Services.
He told council members by email Thursdaythat he could not offer advice on the filing deadline, citingconflicts of interest as a council appointee. Martha Brissette, a policy analyst for the State Board ofElections, said she asked the Division of Legislative Services toresearch the matter. After her own brief review, Brissette said,she expects the June 12 deadline to win out, partly out ofdeference to any potential candidate"s constitutional rightto ballot access. However, she said, any candidate who files after June 5 and winsruns the risk of a court challenge by a losing candidate who filedby the earlier deadline.
Short said Danny Meeks, a challenger who filed before the June 5deadline, told her office that the attorneys who called worked forhim. Jason Miyares, a spokesman for Meeks" campaign, said hiscandidate was away on business and unavailable, but he said Meeksdid not plan to take the matter to court. "I don"t have any interest and neither does Meeks haveany interest in challenging anybody," Miyares said. Short said she will recommend to the city"s Electoral Board– a three-member, politically appointed body that overseeslocal elections – to request an opinion from the stateattorney general.
Until then, she said, she will follow the adviceof the State Board of Elections to continue accepting candidatepetitions until 7 p.m. June 12. Dave Forster, 757-446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com. I am an expert from Construction & Real Estate, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as blue ice granite , steam generator shower.
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