Ballot order final for June GOP primary in Virginia’s 2nd
By JR Hoeft | Friday, April 23rd, 2010 | PoliticsBallot order for the 2nd Congressional District GOP nomination primary has been set.
In order from first to last:
- Ben Loyola
- E. Scott Rigell
- Bert K. Mizusawa
- Jessica D. Sandlin
- Scott W. Taylor
- Ed C. Maulbeck
The first four names indicate being received by Chairman Gary Byler at Noon, 12:01PM, 12:02PM and 12:03PM on March 23.
Sandlin argues that all of these petitions were, indeed, turned in simultaneously and that some sort of drawing should have taken place.
“The 2nd District Chair didn’t follow the rules outlined by the state,” claims David Beemer, Sandlin’s Treasurer.
In an email exchange with the State Board of Elections, Matthew Abell of the Election Services Division responded:
“Nothing in Title 24.2 grants [the] State Board the authority to question the certification performed by the Chair [of the district]….The Code of Virginia was followed in this matter.”
The Sandlin campaign is considering filing a complaint.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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40 Responses to "Ballot order final for June GOP primary in Virginia’s 2nd"
I don’t think ballot order is really going to make a difference. People voting in a primary know why they’re at the polls and who they’re voting for. There may be advantages to being top of the list in a general election but, not the primary.
If you are relying on ballot order to win your election then you probably have a lot greater problems than where you are on the ballot!
Who cares? They are all on the ballott, right?
Filing a complaint? Seriously? Does Sandlin actually think she would get more votes if she was first – this isn’t the Dem. primary, our voters will be informed before they get to the polls. Unless of course she is aiming to pull Dems into the primary – the reason I argued a LONG time ago that this should be a convention, not a primary.
If we had a convention, there certainly would have been less drama. Maybe we will do better next time.
I prefer a convention too.
The reason I care that the Code of Virginia was not followed in the case of ballot order is because it indicates a slippery slope. We are not a banana republic – we have laws and they should be followed.
If we can ignore the Code on this count because, after all, “ballot order doesn’t matter in a primary” (and I would tend to agree), then on what other issues will we allow the Chair carte blanche to ignore the rules? This law is straightforward and available to candidates (and the public) on the internet. It states, “If two or more candidates file at the same time, the order in which they appear will be determined by a drawing conducted by the State Board of Elections.” Why is the SBE not following this? And why did Chairman Byler submit the names in the order of appearance to his office when he knew that we were all there at 12:00 and on equal footing with regards to this?
The fact that some candidates showed up earlier than others is of no consequence, and is addressed by the SBE in section XV: “Candidates appear on the ballot in the order in which they file. This is why no candidate may file earlier than Noon (sic) on March 23, 2010, nor later than 5:00 p.m. on April 9, 2010.”
To conclude, ballot order is not the real issue here (though it is a nice red herring) – the way the packages were turned in and then (mis)handled is the issue.
One could reasonably assume that in the event of simultaneous submittal of qualifications, the fall-back order would be alphabetical order. The resulting ballot order for the four turned in at noon would then be:
Loyola
Mizusawa
Rigell
Sandlin
Therefore Sandlin would still be 4th on the ballout.
HOWEVER, the Code does NOT make provision for simultaneous submittals, so it is solely at the discretion of the Chair.
Hopefully next time we have a primary with numerous candidates we will strongly consider a convention. It will also make the playing field more level. Those that have more money to spend are benefited the most by not having a convention.
Jessica, I hope you reconsider filing a complaint. It will make you look very silly if you proceed. David, can you see me shaking my head with amazement from across the neighborhood?
Maybe we should just do it in order of height like we did for our elementary school pictures because that’s where it feels like we are right now.
@SST- The Code does make provision for simultaneous submissions. I think you may have missed my earlier comment, in which case you can reference Sec. 24.2-529.
@Kathy- I would expect that as a long-time Republican in our area, you would certainly be concerned about whether or not the leaders are correctly performing their duties. It’s simple- follow the law. At any rate, I outgrew my fear of “looking silly” long ago. However, I am a little funny about that thing called democracy.
Well we can only blame Gary Byler for having a primary. After the ill advised decision to have a canvass, he then chose a primary (well the Exec Board did).
So we can blame the 2nd District Executive Board you mean I presume?
Yes DJ…that is why the sentence in the parenthesis says the exec board decided.
Just curious, why doesn’t Ben Loyola’s name have any initial with it like the other candidates?
If you take a look at Loyola’s video on his web site, there is a scene where it shows his “Certificate of Citizenship”. If you stop the video, blow it up to full screen and look around, the only name shown is “Benito Loyola” in 3 places on the document, no middle name.
I found out the names on the ballot were done in the order the candidates showed up at Gary’s office, some well before 12:00 noon.
There is only six weeks left for each candidate to let their voices be heard and convince the voters who they are and what they stand for. What are they going to do about our situation on the economy, the military, jobs, our dependency on oil from people who hate us, the deficit, the list goes on and on. We are in a war against us on our soil still to this day.
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/24/zazicohort-pleads-guilty-to-hatching-new-york-subwaybom.html
A serious time calls for serious people to make a difference.
I noticed new Ben Loyola 4×8 signs over the weekend with him in Navy Whites. Pretty sure the DoD Directive NUMBER 1344.10 states “4.3.2. Members included in subparagraph 4.3.1.( not on active duty) may NOT, in campaign literature (including Web sites, videos, television, and conventional print advertisements):
4.3.2.1. Use or allow the use of photographs, drawings, and other similar media formats of themselves in uniform as the primary graphic representation in any campaign media, such as a billboard, brochure, flyer, Web site, or television commercial. For the purposes of this policy, “photographs” include video images, drawings, and all other similar formats of representational media.” It looked an awful lot like the primary graphic to me.
A lot has changed over the years vis a vis politics and the military so I may be mis-interpreting the regs? I just notice the other “military” members do not have graphics of them in uniform.
Those signs will be gone soon!
I must have been correct in my interpretation then. I wanted to be sure so I contacted the Navy’s Fraud Waste and Abuse Hotline and they said they will get back to me within 72 hours. I will let everyone know what happens
Is Loyola a Captain? I saw another photo of him as a Commander.
C4C I authored a post about this today and asked the Loyola team for comment, their argument is a) the 4×8 contains a disclaimer and b) the picture because it is only 1/3 of the sign does not constitute a ‘primary’ photograph
due to some non-campaign related behind the scenes stuff, I’m unable to print my original post
Unless there is another photo on the 4 x 8 of course it is the primary photo. Are these guys LD?
The SBE never gets involved in party matters. Never. They don’t have the staff and the AG’s office doesn’t want to get involved in party matters. The AG represents the SBE.
Who is this Sandlin chic? She is a total pain in the rear end. First griping about Cantor’s endorsement of Rigell and now this? Jessica – you have NO money, no one knows your message, you have no chance. I doubt you’ll get 500 votes.
Thanks for the laugh, DJ! The explanation from the Loyola campaign is ridiculous, although not surprising based on Loyola’s previous dishonorable behavior (i.e. copying Rigell’s document and presenting it as his own). The 4 x 8 had only one graphic . . . the picture of Loyola. Therefore, it appears to meet the spirit and intent of a “primary graphic”. Why couldn’t the Loyola camp just admit the error and take down the signs? I would have respected him so much more if they had done that. Did Loyola run his interpretation through the SECNAV PAO? I am sure that he didn’t.
You guys really do eat your own, no matter the facts. It’s really sad
>
And further more… wasn’t it our current Governor that had plenty of TV ads outlining his and his daughters military experience. So if our Governor did it, what does it matter if some congressional candidate is doing the same?
Doesn’t everyone see that by creating these issues out of nothing they are merely tearing our party apart. This is why nobody will get behind the nominee in November, and why Nye will retain his seat and the democrats will laugh in our faces for how stupid we made each other look.
pitiful, this has been a bloody race for all the candidates. It has been sad to watch. Everything that has been said or brought out will be used against our candidate by Nye and it will be a closer race than will be comfortable for our party for sure.
Kathy, Nye or more precisely his party, is licking their chops.. Elephant filet on fava beans with rice.. How does it feel to be on the menu?
Barack Obama Admits: Energy Prices Will Skyrocket Under Cap And Trade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqHL404zhcU&feature=related
I am sure that 2nd district voters want their electric bills to skyrocket.
pitiful,
I am a retired military officer and I am critically aware of the impact impropriety, or the appearance of impropriety, has on not just this primary but on the general election as well. The reason the actual candidate is not allowed to campaign in uniform is to prevent undue senior/officer influence on subordinates. If we do not hash this out now, it will be hashed out for us in the fall by those less kind.
Very Respectfully
C4C
A similar situation in Idaho using a military uniform for a political campaign. http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/27/1168913/marines-tell-ward-to-pull-campaign.html Apparently this guy didn’t put the disclaimer on his poster like Loyola did, and as to the “primary graphic representation”, that is subjective based on what is interpreted as a “graphic representation” i.e. the entire ad, or just the photograph.
If Nye could get Loyola transferred to active duty from his current reserve status, the number of candidates running could be reduced by one.
Charles Djou has one picture on his site where he is in uniform. And yes I do support him and have sent a contribution to his campaign.
http://www.djou.com/
C4C, Taylor’s entire “Vote for a SEAL not a RINO” campaign was completely based on a graphic of him in uniform. That was spread all over the place, even as far as DrudgeReport.com.
Do those standards only apply to officer uniforms?
Really???
Applies to any military uniform. The DoD regs do not discriminate by rank. Guess I missed that Taylor campaign. Is the “major graphic” of him stil being used?
V/r
http://www.scotttaylormoneybomb.com/
This picture (the top one with the uniform) with: “Vote for a SEAL not a RINO” written on top of it.
Don’t see a dsiclaimer and my guess is it doesn’t pass the “major graphic” hurdle either.
Thank you
V/r
C4C
It was the main and only graphic when it was run on DRUDGE. I just went to see if it was still there and noticed the article about Vaughn Ward’s ad being ordered taken down by the Pentagon for the same reason.
The last word?
According to Daniel – “The Rigell camp was planning on having someone camped out days before the signatures were due?”
Really? The State Board of Elections clearly explained the candidates should NOT camp out. The procedure was outlined in a 12 page candidate handout and Gary didn’t follow it. Contrary to JR’s opening statement the procedures are detailed in the Code of Virginia. The comment by the SBE is they can’t challenge the submission if it indicates there was no “TIE”. No tie then no drawing.
I talked to the SBE and they agreed it sure seemed like a tie (one second between candidates) but they can’t do anything. Also, Jessica was dead last into Gary’s office (I think she was there third) because Gary needed to talk to her.
Gary did what he wanted and the only reason Scott Rigell wasn’t first on the ticket is Ben figured this out and took Gary on. Does it make a difference?
Highly unlikely but in a close race possibly YES. This is simply a matter of principle and the rules are there for a reason specifically to prevent candidates from camping out for days.
Gary Byler is a great republican but I would argue we also deserve someone with a strong moral compass as the 2nd District Chair. It’s just nuts how much money was spent during the primary and how we fractured the party vice capturing a whole new crop of excited volunteers.
Most blame Kenny, but I put the bulk of the blame on Gary who pissed Kenny off so much he quit the party to run as an independent.
I wonder how things would have played out under David Hummel’s watch?
It seems most republicans just don’t care what happened… OK I get that. Most say who cares Scott Rigell was elected. OK I get that too. What I’m saying is we spent way too much money and we didn’t bring the party closer over the last year. We had hundreds of new faces eager to help the party but they have already scattered to the wind. Leadership is essential and integrity is the foundation leadership and I honestly don’t think Gary has a strong leadership foundation.
Gary Byler’s actions during the primary wounded our parties cohesion, cost local republican’s roughly $2.4 million and it’s shocking to me I seem to be the only one who cares.
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