District Judge M. Hannah Lauck, in Richmond on Monday, added the Republican Party of Virginia as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the GOP’s “Statement of Affiliation” in the March 1 GOP Presidential Primary. Also Monday, the State Board of Elections, the original defendants, asked for the dismissal of the suit. Judge Lauck has set a Wednesday hearing in the case.
Three black pastors from the Richmond area who support Donald Trump filed suit last week against the State Board of Elections in an effort to block the requirement under which voters would fill out a form that says: “My signature below indicates that I am a Republican.”
The State Board of Elections approved the requirement Dec. 16 at the request of the GOP’s State Central Committee. Trump says his campaign is not part of the suit but supports its goal.
The State Board of Elections (SBE) had urged the judge to add the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) to the case “as a necessary party” to the action. It said in its motion that “whatever alleged defect may exist in the requirement, it is not a requirement created by the SBE.”
The judge wrote in her order Monday: “Factually, both plaintiffs and defendants contend that the language to be used on the ballots arises as a result of the RPV’s involvement.” Lauck added: “The court will be called upon to evaluate the lawfulness of the language. If the court were to find the language unlawful, an order enjoining its use would impact the RPV’s involvement in the process. Without the RPV, the court likely could not afford complete relief.”
David D’Onofrio, a spokesman for the RPV, had no comment Monday other than that the State party’s lawyers were reviewing the case.
In the short term, the pastors, Stephen A. Parson, Leon Benjamin, and Bruce Waller Sr., are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the Statement of Affiliation, which the pastors term an unlawful “loyalty oath.” The pastors also seek a temporary restraining order to block any inclusion of the statement with absentee ballots in the Presidential Primary that are scheduled to go out this week. The pastors argue that the proposed requirement violates the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act and state law.
They also argue that the proposed requirement disproportionately hurts minority voters. “By excluding who the party perceives to be Democrats, minority voters will be disproportionately excluded,” their lawyer, Chuck Smith, writes in a memorandum supporting their bid for an injunction. He adds that “the loyalty oath will produce long lines and interminable waits for all voters, but that will hit blacks and Hispanics especially hard.” He asserts that “the loyalty oath also amounts to a literacy test in disguise” because other than in Fairfax County, the forms “will apparently be available in English only.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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