BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia say they’ve filed legal action in Mingo County after Mercer County candidate Jeff Disibbio was left off of nearly 700 early voting ballots in the county.
A lawsuit was filed by the ACLU representing a voter who is seeking a court order requiring the clerk to correct their error and hold a fair election for West Virginia’s 6th Senate District. Although Disibbio lost to Mingo County Republican Craig Hart, they still plan to move forward with the legal action.
“In a democracy, the voters choose their leaders, not the other way around. That’s why we’re asking the Court to order that the Mingo County Clerk do whatever it takes to make this right, and make sure every eligible West Virginian in their community can meaningfully exercise their right to vote,” said Nick Ward, an attorney for ACLU W.Va.
Those from the ACLU say the issue isn‘t about party, but instead it‘s about ballot integrity. The recent error in Mingo County isn’t the first.
Earlier this year during the May Primary, voter irregularities were discovered and challenged by incumbent Senator Chandler Swope after he lost to Hart. The challenge was later dropped by Swope.
In a statement from Disibbio he says “With the pending case from a Mingo County citizens and the ACLU, I will likely let them take up the mantle for the fair election concerns. I understand this was likely a human error, but these types of errors can not happen with our election being so crucial to our democracy. So additional security measures may need to be implemented. My concern when bringing this light to this was and remains wholly on keeping West Virginia as the standard other states should aspire to become and that all starts with election integrity.”
WVVA has reached out to Craig Hart in an attempt to get comment from him, but as of air time we have not heard back. We will share his response when we receive it.
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