Final arguments were heard Thursday afternoon in Sen. George Goodwin's lawsuit against the Board of Elections, but Territorial Court Judge Ishmael Meyers has yet to hand down a decision. The fate of the Senate's seventh seat still hangs in the balance somewhere between Goodwin and Sen. Lorraine Berry.
"I consider this two full days of testimony," he said at the conclusion of Thursday's five-hour hearing, which followed more than 10 hours on Wednesday.
"This case is very important to the people of the Virgin Islands," he said, noting he would write a short opinion on it. Meyers had said earlier that he hoped the case didn't run through Saturday because he wanted that day for writing.
Attorney General Iver Stridiron was called to the stand Thursday, along with Elections Board chairwoman Rita Brady. Berry Chief of Staff James Francis and Elections Board Secretary Shawn Michael Malone also testified.
Brady said the types of challenges to ballots issued in the recent count were "unusual." They were selective, she noted, referring to last names and addresses. Specifically, she said ballots determined to contain French surnames or North Side addresses were singled out by Sen.-elect Celestino White. She also accused some of the ballot-watchers of "abominable" behavior.
Stridiron said the Elections Board performed in a "most professional manner," and went over each ballot carefully, putting aside the challenged ballots. He said that he saw no "abominable behavior," and that everyone behaved in a reasonable manner given the circumstances.
Stridiron defended his ruling that the 480 ballots not bearing postmarks be accepted as well as those with inner unsealed envelopes, providing the affidavits were properly signed.
Malone, Brady and Francis agreed with Stridiron's contention that the challenged ballots had been put aside and not mixed with the others as some witnesses had stated Wednesday.
In her closing statement, Goodwin attorney Shawn Maynard Hahnfeld said the absentee ballot count had violated the V.I. Code, which states that all absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 7, election day.
She also contended that Goodwin would be deprived of his constitutional rights to carry out his position, and that the Elections Board purposely commingled the votes, making an accurate count impossible. Hahnfeld said there were more than enough votes to have turned the tide in her client's direction, but there was no way to determine that with the commingled votes.
She also questioned testimony about walk-in ballots received after Nov. 7, and the lack of distinction between walk-in and mailed ballots, which Elections Board officials had testified were not sorted out. She concluded that money could not cover the injury to her client of being deprived of serving the people, and asked the court to grant the "public's intent."
Kerry Drue, representing the Board of Elections, said it was the board's intent to protect the rights and will of the electorate. She cited numerous cases involving ballot disputes, saying the majority of the electorate takes precedence over strict election laws.
"The courts have ruled that not every irregularity warrants an invalid vote," she said. Drue answered each of the challenges Hahnfeld had brought up about the irregularities, mainly the unpostmarked ballots.
"The postmark is a technical nicety," she said.
She cited the testimony of White, Samuel, Nick Friday and Carla Joseph, who had testified for the plaintiff. "They all cited challenges, but not one of them took notes to back anything up," she said, and referred to the extensive notes taken and referred to by Brady.
In a final appeal to the court, Drue said, "To disenfranchise all those voters is too harsh. We have to listen to the voice of the voters."
Berry's attorney, Chad Messier, said the V.I. Code was ambiguous in the legislative intent about the postmarks, which states the ballots must be postmarked by election day. The intent was to get the votes in on time, not necessarily with a postmark. "They intended the people vote on or before election day," he said.
"All the votes that should be counted were counted," Messier said, "and no votes that shouldn't be counted were counted."
"What is in the public's interest, that the votes be thrown out?" he concluded. "One cannot punish an innocent voter who has done everything he believed right.
"The will of the people is paramount, and one out of every two voters voted for my client, Sen. Berry. Let's not fool ourselves. This is a political contest in a courtroom."
