ANALYSIS: The Pressure Is Building in Spotsylvania

Friday August 18, 2023

ANALYSIS: The Pressure Is Building in Spotsylvania

by Martin Davis
FOUNDER AND EDITOR

In mid-July the FXBG Advance (then called F2S) published a piece exposing potential problems with the Petitions of Qualified Voters submitted by two candidates for local office – Nic Ignacio (running for clerk of court) and Steve Maxwell (running for sheriff).

As we explained then:

In our review of Ignacio’s and Maxwell’s Petition of Qualified Voters submissions, which Spotsylvania County Director of Elections and General Registrar Kellie Acors has certified, we found that at least 16 of the 128 signatures Ignacio collected, and 37 of the 144 that Maxwell collected, were dated January 1.

Both Ignacio and Maxwell needed 125 certified signatures in order to appear on the ballot. If those dated January 1 were to be deemed invalid by the Department of Elections, this could leave both candidates short of the 125 threshold. Ignacio would have only 112 registered signatures; Maxwell 107.

Since that story ran, the NAACP has moved to put pressure on Spotsylvania County Director of Elections and General Registrar Kellie Acors to have these candidates removed from the ballot.

In a letter dated August 10, the president of the Spotsylvania NAACP branch, Mo Petway, wrote:

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the Spotsylvania NAACP has been made aware of and provided the “Virginia Petition of Qualified Voter Forms” submitted by Nick Ignacio, Steve Maxwell, and Jordan Lynch. These forms contain several clear violations of the Virginia Election Code. Had these violations been included by your office all three of these prospective candidates would have been disqualified from being certified for placement on the 2023 ballot because they do not meet the requirement for 125 valid petition signatures. Therefore, we are requesting your office review the data we have provided related to their ballot sheets and take action to disqualify and remove their certification from the 2023 election ballot.

Note that Jordan Lynch, who is running for school board in the Chancellor District) is named alongside Ignacio and Maxwell.

Since our story in mid-July, Lynch’s Petition of Qualified Voters file has come to light, and it, too, has significant issues.

Most troubling are four – possibly five – signatures that carry a date of August 11, 2023. The problem with that date is it’s almost two full months after the primary and after the date carrying the notary public’s signature.

Unlike the issue with the January 1 dates we explored in mid-July, there is no legitimate way to defend certifying votes that are dated after the date attested by the notary public.

The Advance spoke with Petway, on Thursday evening.

Asked if Acors had responded to his letter, he replied that Acors informed him an answer to his letter was coming via snail-mail.

“We’re waiting to get a response from the local registrar’s office,” Petway said. “Then we’ll inform the state and seek guidance.”

Turbulence gathering

In addition to the move by the NAACP to request Ignacio, Maxwell, and Lynch be removed, other storm clouds are gathering.

The Advance asked Sen. Bryce Reeves if he knew of other actions to have Ignacio removed. He said:

“Ignacio has his endorsement removed” by the Spotsylvania County Republican Party.

We reported this on July 31, as well as the additional troubles Maxwell is facing.

He recently received notification that he was in violation of the Hatch Act, which sets strict limits on federal employees’ political activities.

Over the past eight years, the Republican Party has made an issue of election integrity. That people can trust their vote is counted, however, is a less concerning issue than that voters know the people who run for office are following the same guidelines for getting on the ballot.

There is no substantial evidence to suggest that election vote counts are compromised or inaccurate. But there regularly are issues with the process candidates must follow to get on the ballot. (See Markus Schmidt’s recent piece in Cardinal News.)

Given the chaos that has been unleashed in Spotsylvania County by the Tea Party over the past two years, making sure that the candidates who are on the ballot deserve to be there, matters.

The county’s election officers have a responsibility to ensure that happens.

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-Martin Davis, Editor