Bryan Files Emergency Motion In Surpreme Court For Criminal Contempt Against Fawkes, Certain Board Members

As the Joint Boards of Elections has so far failed to adhere to the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands Oct. 24 ruling ordering Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes to remove Sen. Alicia “Chucky” Hansen’s name from the Nov. 4 General Election ballots, Board of Elections Chairman for the St. Croix District, Adelbert Bryan, has filed an emergency motion in the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands for Criminal Contempt, Contempt Sanctions, and for an Order directed to respondents Caroline Fawkes and certain members of the V.I. Joint Boards of Elections to show cause why they should not be held in criminal contempt for their failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s Oct. 24 order.

In the 10-page document, plaintiff Bryan says members of the Joint Boards, Arturo Watlington, Jr., Lydia Hendricks, Rupert Ross, Jr., Raymond Williams, Lisa Harris-Moorehead, Liliana Belardo de O’Neal and Glen Webster “refused to take action with regard to printing election ballots consistent with the Supreme Court’s October 24, 2014 order.

I witnessed the Office of Election, under the supervision of Fawkes and Deputy Supervisor Genevieve Whitaker, distributing to the voting public election ballots with Hansen’s name to absentee voters and early voters who made requests for such ballots after the Supreme Court’s October 24, 2014, and after the Board Members and Fawkes were knowledgeable of the Court’s mandate. — Adelbert Bryan

Bryan, in the filing, said he “advised Fawkes and the Board of the continuing violation of the Court’s Order by distributing ballots with Hansen’s name to voters requesting absentee ballots after Oct0ber 24, 2014, and Fawkes Deputy Supervisor Genevieve Whitaker and the V.I. Joint Board continue to allow the distribution of ballots with Hansen’s name in violation of the Court’s order.

On October 28, 2014, four days after the Supreme Court’s order, the Joint Boards’ counsel, Assistant Attorney General Kimberly Salisbury, in an email addressed to Board members Alicia Wells, Arturo Watlington, Raymond Williams, Lisa Harris-Moorhead, Glen Webster and email address [email protected], told the aforementioned parties that the Supreme Court had ruled, and advised the St. Thomas District to comply with the order.

Good Afternoon,

The VI Supreme Court has ruled (like it or not) that the Joint Board is a party to the Bryan v. Fawkes case and their order to remove Senator Hansen from the ballot needs to be complied with. The AG has advised Ms. Fawkes she needs to comply with the Court Order and get new ballots. The STX Board should also comply with the Order and approve the new ballots as required by 18 VIC 4 (b) (S).

In a story reported in the VI Consortium on Oct. 28, there was no discussion of the reprinting of ballots without Alicia “Chucky” Hansen’s name at a Joint Boards of Elections meeting held on Mon., Oct. 27 at Gertrude’s Restaurant on St. Croix.

“The Joint Boards also did not discuss whether new ballots would be printed without Hansen’s name and made available in time for Election Day. While Chairman of the St. Croix District Adelbert Bryan waged a heated discussion on the issue of ballots already cast in early voting, it was still not made clear what would become of those votes,” the VI Consortium’s executive editor reported.

Bryan’s latest motion was filed on October 29, 2014 at 5:15 p.m.

The VI Consortium will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available.