Elections Supervisor Takes Legal Action to Disqualify Congressional Candidate Ida Smith

Caroline Fawkes filed a lawsuit against the Board of Elections and nine members, challenging their decision to place Ida Smith on the ballot despite her disqualification. The suit seeks to affirm the Supervisor's sole authority over candidate eligibility

On Thursday, Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes filed a complaint in Superior Court, asking that Ida Smith's nomination petition for Delegate to Congress be disqualified. After initially being disqualified by the Elections Supervisor due to deficiencies with her nomination paperwork, Ms. Smith appealed to the Board of Elections, saying that Ms. Fawkes had incorrectly relied on prevailing local law, instead of the Constitution of the United States. The question of whether or not Ms. Smith is eligible delayed the Board's ballot approval process, with members deciding to seek legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General before making a decision one way or another.

By way of a letter to the board, Senate-confirmed Attorney General nominee Gordon Rhea recommended that Ms. Smith be allowed onto the ballot, and Board of Elections members – in a contentious meeting – voted in early September to restore her candidacy in keeping with Mr. Rhea's recommendation. The board also voted to place Ms. Smith's name on the ballot after Ms. Fawkes said she would refuse to do so. “We'll go to court,” the Elections Supervisor vowed, and on Thursday she made good on that promise.