Janelle Sarauw Asks Supreme Court To Order Board of Elections To Certify April 8 Special Election

ST. THOMAS — It was the belief of many that once the 32nd Legislature decided the Kevin Rodriquez matter, that the winner of the April 8 special election, Janelle Sarauw, would be certified by the St. Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections without issue, and subsequently seated as a member of the 32nd Legislature.

In fact, the Majority Caucus on Thursday wrote the B.O.E. asking that the board immediately seat Ms. Sarauw. But the board appeared to be in no hurry to deal with the matter, and members of the Minority Caucus took exception with language used by Senate President Mryon Jackson in the letter, contending that his words came off as representing the entire body.

Ms. Saruaw, though, isn’t waiting on either the B.O.E. or Senate to settle her case; on Saturday, she filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands asking the court to order the B.O.E. to certify the April 8 special election. The move, a called a writ of mandamus, is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a superior court, to any government subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from doing) and which is in the nature of public duty.

Saturday’s suit was not the first of its kind from Ms. Sarauw. In May, she requested the same action from the Superior Court, but that move proved futile. Whether or not the Supreme Court will act on the matter in light of the 32nd Legislature’s decision to scatter Mr. Rodriquez, remains to be seen.

In the writ mandamus, seen below in full, Ms. Sarauw details the events that led to the June 28 decision by the 32nd Legislature, and asks whether the Board of Elections has any other duty relative to the matter but to certify the special election, especially in light of the 32nd body’s decision.

Correction: July 2, 2017

A previous version of this story stated that Ms. Sauraw’s latest suit was filed in the Superior Court, when it was filed in the Supreme Court. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.