Much like Albertson, I have no stomach for the Incumbent Protection Act.
So even though the consequences of what is going with the patently political maneuvering going on in Prince William County — at least, on the surface — employ the very path the act is designed to protect, the decisions by both the Prince William Board of Elections and the local judge are seriously misplaced.
Worst of all, they are a violation of process. Steve Albertson over at The Bull Elephant knocks this one out of the park:
Virginia law requires the local party chairman to make the filing regarding nomination methods on time. This is not an act of discretion, but a purely ministerial responsibility which the party chairman has no lawful ability to escape. It is not as if the law leaves it up to the party chairman to decide whether officials in his party will get a primary; quite the opposite is true. The judge should have acted to correct what all parties involved concede was an administrative failure, not a political act or some manifestation of legal protest.
Instead, by ruling against the incumbents seeking to exercise their lawful rights (however dubious those rights are from a constitutional perspective), this judge has essentially just validated the irresponsible actions of the Prince William electoral board, and by extension he has told every party chairman across the Commonwealth that they have the ability to force a canvass or convention on all of their local office incumbents by simply refusing to obey the law. (emphasis original)
That’s the problem here. Process is being violated, and a mere administrative hiccup shouldn’t flip the apple cart.
I hope Chairman Stewart appeals as well.
