Petition Asks Superior Court to Force Separate Delegate Ballot Ahead of Nov. 3 Election

A petition filed Tuesday in Superior Court seeks to compel the Election System of the Virgin Islands to place the Delegate contest on a separate ballot from local electoral races, challenging the Board of Elections’ decision to continue using a combined ballot ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Mary Moorhead, who filed the petition, argues that provisions in both Title 18 of the Virgin Islands Code and Title 48 of the United States Code leave neither the Board of Elections nor the Election System with discretion to combine the contests. According to the petition, the law requires a separate ballot containing the names of candidates seeking the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives. Petition Cites Local and Federal Law Moorhead points to Section 21(b) of Title 18 VIC, which states in part that “the Supervisor of Elections shall cause to be entered on the Official Ballot a separate ballot containing the names of candidates for the office of Delegate to the House of Representa...