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Judge rules GOP House candidate ineligible on technicality. She plans to appeal.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-rules-gop-house-candidate-215106352.htmlIf Susan Tyler Witten had filed her paperwork to run for House District 31 one day later, she would have been fine.
But Jefferson Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell sided with GOP candidate Witten’s opponent, Democratic candidate Susan “Sue” Foster, in a lawsuit challenging Witten’s candidacy. The basis: Witten and two voters who signed affidavits in support of her candidacy on Jan. 19 were not yet technically residing in the new 31st House District, which took effect one day later on Jan. 20 after the legislature overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of their redistricting maps.
The redistricting process is required to occur every ten years to conform with population changes as documented by the U.S. Census. In Kentucky, the legislature has the sole power to draw new maps for state House and Senate, as well as U.S. Congress and Kentucky Supreme Court districts. Beshear, a Democrat, vetoed the new House maps, calling them an instance of “unconstitutional political gerrymandering.” The Kentucky Democratic Party is fighting a legal battle against the House and U.S. Congressional maps, currently held up in Franklin Circuit Court, using a similar argument.
But Jefferson Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell sided with GOP candidate Witten’s opponent, Democratic candidate Susan “Sue” Foster, in a lawsuit challenging Witten’s candidacy. The basis: Witten and two voters who signed affidavits in support of her candidacy on Jan. 19 were not yet technically residing in the new 31st House District, which took effect one day later on Jan. 20 after the legislature overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of their redistricting maps.
The redistricting process is required to occur every ten years to conform with population changes as documented by the U.S. Census. In Kentucky, the legislature has the sole power to draw new maps for state House and Senate, as well as U.S. Congress and Kentucky Supreme Court districts. Beshear, a Democrat, vetoed the new House maps, calling them an instance of “unconstitutional political gerrymandering.” The Kentucky Democratic Party is fighting a legal battle against the House and U.S. Congressional maps, currently held up in Franklin Circuit Court, using a similar argument.
According to state statute, candidates must file a notification and declaration of their candidacy with the Secretary of State that “shall be signed by the candidate and by not less than two registered voters of the same party from the district or jurisdiction from which the candidate seeks nomination.”
At the time, Witten and the two individuals that signed onto her paperwork resided in House Districts 32 or 33, according to O’Connell’s order.
At the time, Witten and the two individuals that signed onto her paperwork resided in House Districts 32 or 33, according to O’Connell’s order.