Latest news with #NorfolkElectoralBoard
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorneys argue whether Norfolk Electoral Board member failed job duties
Lawyers debated whether or not a Norfolk Electoral Board member's actions were grounds for removal during a Circuit Court trial Tuesday. A representative for state and local election officials attempted to convince a judge that Marianne McKay, the vice chair of the Norfolk Electoral Board, had failed her job duties, while her attorneys said her actions were legal and permissible as an electoral board member. The trial came after Norfolk election officials asked a Circuit Court judge to remove McKay from her position on the board, citing several claims of misconduct. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney K. Miles Scott said an attempt by McKay to remove her certification of the November general election results in an email amounted to abandoning her duties as a board member. 'She stops being a public servant and becomes a saboteur,' Scott said. In a November email, McKay attempted to rescind her certification of election results because she was not allowed by the board to inspect thousands of provisional ballot envelopes. Scott argued that instead of attempting to remove her certification, McKay should have pursued her objections to provisional ballots through the legal system. William Turner, an attorney for McKay, argued that the email was not grounds for removal because the election has already previously been certified and the email did not cause that to change. Scott also argued that because McKay trained and led a group of Republican poll watchers, she had engaged in political activities while performing her Election Day duties as a board member, which is forbidden in the state job description. In response, Turner argued the activity did not fall under her duties as a board member and was permissible. He noted that other current and former board members called as witnesses also spoke with poll watchers at the polls. However, those witnesses said they did not direct partisan poll watching efforts during those elections. Much of the trial revolved around 2024 being the first Presidential election where Virginia allowed those who register to vote on Election Day to cast a provisional ballot. As a result, thousands more provisional ballots were cast in Norfolk than normal elections, many from precincts located near college campuses. Those ballots must be researched by election officials and approved by the electoral board. Two GOP poll watchers communicated with McKay on Election Day in November about alleged problems at a precinct near Norfolk State University. They said photo identification was not checked by some election officials and some voters talked about receiving money or good grades for voting for Democrats, the poll watchers claimed. Rather than alerting Norfolk General Registrar Stephanie Iles or other board members, McKay testified that she called a GOP lawyer to speak with the poll watchers. In her testimony, Iles said she didn't know about the specific claims until after the election because McKay never told her, which prevented her from stopping the alleged behavior. After the attorneys presented their arguments, Circuit Court Judge Everett Martin gave lawyers a few weeks to make final written statements before he would issue his ruling. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norfolk election officials ask judge to remove one of its board members
Several Norfolk election officials have asked a Circuit Court judge to remove a member of the Norfolk Electoral Board, saying she has disrupted the election process and betrayed the nonpartisan nature of the position. Officials are asking a judge to remove Marianne McKay, the board vice chair, according to court documents. 'Her actions are a refusal to perform her required duties under state code as an appointed electoral board member,' Stephanie Iles, Norfolk general registrar, said in a Nov. 16 email to Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals. The case against McKay revolves around several actions taken by her during the 2024 June primary and November general election. In November, McKay attempted to rescind her approval of the 2024 election results because she was not allowed to personally review thousands of provisional ballots. 'Despite our procedures of researching all information for each provisional ballot cast to ensure the voter is eligible and in the correct precinct to present our findings before the board for approval, she continued to delay the request to certify the provisional votes,' Iles said in a Jan. 6 letter to the Virginia State Board of Elections. Additionally, Iles said McKay instructed election officials to deviate from normal protocols by asking chief and assistant chief officers to separately complete statements of results, according to the letter. 'Why would you change our procedures?' Iles asked. 'In a time where there are seeds of doubt sewn in our local and national elections, this action was tantamount to sabotage.' Iles also said McKay worked with a third-party election integrity group to staff outside poll watchers at the June and November elections. Iles said the poll watchers were instructed to illegally take pictures in the polling place and that she received complaints about their behavior. Iles called the actions ethically compromising and political in nature. 'Ms. McKay has exhibited aggressive actions and a micromanaging mentality as a board member,' Iles said in the letter, adding that she continues to ignore a passed motion telling board members to only perform duties assigned to their position. Finally, Iles said during the first election McKay served as a board member, she offended staff members with her opinions on gay people and offended Electoral Board Chair Atoy Carrington, who is Black, with racial insults. Carrington also sent an email to Beals and other state election officials in August, saying during the June primary McKay would not answer questions about an incident that occurred on another board member's assigned route. Carrington said McKay removed a poll chief at that precinct and replaced that person with one of her choosing. 'A team player she is not,' Carrington said. 'We have all attempted to work with Ms. McKay, but she refuses to work with us.' John Sitka, chair of the Norfolk Republican Party, even asked McKay to step down from her position after she included him in her email chains. In a Nov. 16 email, Sitka asked McKay to resign, saying doing so would prevent future embarrassment for her and Norfolk Republicans. 'If you do not voluntarily step down, I will have to consider asking a judge to remove you,' Sitka said in another email after McKay did not resign. In a written response to the state board, McKay sidestepped a question about whether she would withdraw her certification of the election if she had the chance to do it again. McKay claimed she and other poll watchers witnessed irregularities at the Chesterfield precinct, particularly involving groups of Norfolk State University students voting. She admitted to training the poll watchers but denied that it was ethically compromising because she said she was not acting as a board member at that time. She also countered claims of micromanaging by saying she was conducting oversight over Iles and blamed what she said was an overly broad motion delegating many tasks to the general registrar. She also denied insulting gay people or using racial insults. Virginia's bipartisan electoral boards are selected for three-year staggered terms by Circuit Court judges based on local party recommendations, according to the Virginia elections website. Iles said McKay was sworn in Dec. 15, 2022, and her term ends Dec. 31. McKay was one of three candidates recommended by former Norfolk GOP Chair Craig Shepherd, Iles said. Since Donald Trump falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen and sought to overturn the results, the Republican Party and its allies recruited poll watchers in 2024 to attempt to collect evidence of fraud at elections, according to New York Times reporting. The Virginia Board of Elections voted 4-1 on March 4 to petition the court for McKay's removal. McKay's next hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Norfolk Circuit Court. McKay, Iles and Carrington declined to comment. In a handwritten letter sent to Iles' home following the June primary, McKay quoted a Bible verse from Proverbs: 'Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpers another.' Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
