Tag: WVElection2020

Watch The 2020 W.Va. Supreme Court Candidates Forum

Watch a moderated forum featuring candidates vying for a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in West Virginia’s 2020 Primary Election.

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The Future of the West Virginia Supreme Court: An Evening with the Candidates will air on WVPB television twice — at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, on the main WVPB channel and at 11 a.m. Friday, June 5, on The West Virginia Channel. The program also will be available Thursday at 6 p.m. on WVPB’s YouTube and Facebook channels and at wvpublic.org

The forum is sponsored by the Bonnie and Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications at Shepherd University.

The Supreme Court of Appeals is West Virginia’s highest court and the court of last resort. It includes five seats, three of which are open for this nonpartisan election, which serves as the General Election for this race. One justice will be selected for each division and will serve a 12-year term, except in Division 3, where appointee John Hutchison is finishing former Justice Allen Loughry’s term. If elected, Hutchison will serve until 2024.

Nine out of 10 candidates joined the forum remotely from across West Virginia in keeping with pandemic safety guidelines:

Division 1: Tim Armstead, David Hummel, Jr. and Richard Neely
Division 2: Jim Douglas, Kristina “Kris” Raynes, Joanna Tabit and William “Bill” Wooton
Division 3: John Hutchison and Bill Schwartz (Lora Dyer did not participate.)

The forum is divided into three segments to sharpen voter focus on the candidates competing in each division. It features two moderators, Dave Mistich, senior reporter for WVPB, and David Welch, director of the Stubblefield Institute. 

Voting options in West Virginia’s primary include in-person voting on Election Day, a 10-day early voting period, electronic absentee voting for certain eligible voters, and the expanded use of the excused absentee ballot process due to coronavirus concerns.

More info on this race and the June 9 elections can be found at the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website.  

Meet The Candidates For West Virginia Supreme Court Division 3: Dyer, Hutchison, Schwartz

While the winners of Divisions 1 and 2 for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will each serve a full 12-year term on the state’s high court, the winner of Division 3 will serve the remaining four years of an unexpired term. 

 
As the top court in the state, the five justices who sit on the West Virginia Supreme Court hear appeals of decisions over all matters decided in the circuit courts, including criminal convictions heard in magistrate court and appeals from administrative agencies, according to information on the court’s website. The court also hears appeals of decisions decided in family court if both parties agree that they will not appeal directly to the circuit court. The court also decides workers’ compensation appeals.

Candidates from Division 3 — like those running for the other open seats on the bench — spoke to West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications at Shepherd University as part of a forum recorded last week. 

 

Justice John Hutchison was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice in December 2018 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Justice Allen Loughry. 

 

Loughry was elected to the Supreme Court in 2012 as a Republican before judicial elections became nonpartisan — but his term was cut short following an investigation into lavish office renovations and using state resources for private gain. 

 

Loughry is currently serving a two-year federal prison sentence for fraud, making false statements and witness tampering related to the scandal. Hutchison is running to keep the seat for the remainder of the term that expires in 2024. 

 

Hutchison said the court has come a long way since his appointment. 

 

“We’ve implemented 11 separate written policies. You wouldn’t have thought we needed some of those policies. Common sense would tell you that you don’t drive a car out of state on a golf trip — a state car out of state,” Hutchison said. “But we’ve done that. And I think that a continued focus on the ethical obligations of judges and attorneys needs to continue.”

 

Hutchison also says the court can do more to assist in tackling the state’s ongoing problems with opioid addiction. 

 

“The problem we have is 85 percent of $135 million goes to salaries and benefits for all the 1,500 employees that work for the Supreme Court. The court, thereafter, works diligently — and has worked diligently — through grants and other matters to increase our resources,” Hutchison said. 

 

Charleston attorney Bill Schwartz is challenging Hutchuson for the seat. Schwartz agrees that continued reforms need to take place to ensure the Supreme Court is held accountable to taxpayers. 

“We’ve got an image issue — and transparency is the key. Maybe even bringing legislative oversight more so than it is,” Schwartz said. 

Schwartz contends that reshaping the public’s view of the court means putting an attorney on the bench who has not made a career as a judge or justice. He said he is running to “put a taxpayer among the robes.”

 

“[I’m] not speaking against any respectable, respected judge and justice, but we have enough judges and politicians. I think one of the things we can do is put a taxpayer among the robes,” he said. 

 

Schwartz also says that there is much more the court can do to curb the opioid crisis and relieve strains on the state’s judicial system. 

 

“If there is discretionary money within there, that needs to be focused on the frontline workers and the frontline people in this crisis are the magistrate courts, the family court, the drug court, and the circuit court judges.,” Schwartz said. “Those people get their hands dirty with it. Those are the people that need the help. That’s where the money needs to go.”

 

Judge Lora Dyer, who serves Jackson, Calhoun, Mason and Roane Counties as a circuit judge in the state’s Fifth Circuit and is also running in Division 3. Dyer did not respond to West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s request for an interview and did not participate in a candidate forum recorded last week. 

 

The Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiative has spent more than $10,000 in support of Dyer.

 

Re Set West Virginia — another independent expenditure attempting to influence the races for state Supreme Court — has spent more than $215,000 in support of Hutchison.

 

To learn more about candidates for the West Virginia Supreme Court, tune in Thursday, June 4 at 6 p.m. for a two-hour candidate forum that includes nine of the 10 jurists running across the three divisions. That program airs on West Virginia Public Broadcasting television stations and will also be available online at wvpublic.org.

 

 

5 Questions You May Be Too Afraid to Ask About W.Va.’s 2020 Primary

 

The coronavirus pandemic has quickly become the biggest story of 2020, eclipsing the kind of news coverage we’d usually see in the run up to an presidential election. West Virginia will host its primary election next month, on June 9. 

For many of us, civics class was longer ago than we’d like to admit. And even if it wasn’t, there are plenty of changes this year due to COVID-19. (Here’s our primary voting guide if you have questions on how things have changed.) (And here’s our story about key races to watch.)

 

 

What is a magistrate? 

 

A magistrate is a judge that often hears cases related to small crimes, including misdemeanors. Think speeding tickets or other civil violations in which you would be cited and then released.

Magistrates also conduct preliminary examinations in felony cases and civil cases in which the financial dispute is less than $10,000. Additionally, magistrates can issue protective orders related to domestic violence cases. In counties where there are no mental hygiene commissioners, the chief judge can designate a magistrate to handle involuntary hospitalization cases.

In criminal cases, magistrates issue and record affidavits, complaints, arrest warrants, and search warrants, as well as set bail and make decisions concerning proposed plea agreements, the collection of court costs, cash bonds and fines.

According to the West Virginia Judiciary’s website, “Magistrates use their training and sound judgment to oversee the application and enforcement of state laws, municipal laws, and court procedures.”

 

In West Virginia, there are 158 magistrates, with at least two in every county. Magistrate judges do not need a law degree or to have entered into the state bar.

 

How does my registered party affiliation affect which primary I can vote in?

West Virginia has what is known as a “semi-closed” or “hybrid” primary, which very much affects which ballot you will receive and which party’s primaries you can vote in.

If you are registered as a Republican, you can only vote in the Republican primaries. If you are registered as a Democrat, you can only vote in the Democratic primaries. The same goes for those who are registered with the Mountain Party or Independent.

However, if you are registered as “No Party Affiliation” you can choose which party’s ballot you would like to receive for the primary election. That doesn’t mean you can jump from party to party between races (President, Governor, Senate, House, etc.). You can only choose one party’s ballot for all races.

For example, if you are registered as a non-affiliated voter and select a ballot from the Democratic primary, you may only vote to nominate candidates from that party for each race (President, Governor, Senate, House, etc.) The same applies to the Republican or Mountain parties, should you choose one of their ballots. 

For the General Election, every registered voter receives the same ballot. 

 

There was concern early on that COVID-19 could spread by mail. Do I need to worry about this, regarding my mail-in ballot?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main source of the coronavirus’s spread is from person to person contact through respiratory droplets from an infected person who coughs, sneezes or talks in close proximity to someone else.

However, researchers are still learning about the virus. The CDC says surface transmission, such as through mail, is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but there is some evidence that the virus can survive on some surfaces, such as cardboard, for up to 24 hours. 

The CDC also recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer after collecting mail from a post office or home mailbox.

That being said, because the virus’s main source of spread is from person to person contact, voting absentee is most definitely less risky than voting in-person. 

 

Is it too late to change my party affiliation? 

Yes. The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation is 21 days before each election. That date also serves as the deadline to change one’s party affiliation for a primary.

For the 2020 primary scheduled for June 9, the deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation was May 19. 

 

How does a provisional ballot work?

First, it’s important to remember, you cannot be turned away on Election Day if you show up to vote in most states, including West Virginia. Always request a provisional ballot. They serve as a fail-safe if there are administrative errors or if a voter’s eligibility to vote is uncertain. 

According to the Secretary of State’s website, a voter may be offered a provisional ballot if poll workers cannot find your name in the poll book, or you might otherwise be ineligible to vote. 

So, if you recently moved, didn’t get your voter registration in on time, or have some sort of inconsistency in your registration when you tried to vote at their precinct, you’ll likely be offered a provisional ballot. 

It’s up to each county board of canvassers to decide whether or not to accept your provisional ballot, and often it comes down to what the county clerk can find out about you using public records. Each county’s board of canvassers is made up of different county commissioners. 

You can track the status of your provisional ballot by checking with your local County Clerk’s office.

Have other questions? Check out the Secretary of State’s FAQ. 

 

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