Ashland, VA – The Rachel Levy for Delegate campaign would like to announce that they are joining the Jennifer Adeli for Delegate campaign and several other Virginia House of Delegates’ campaigns, in filing a lawsuit seeking an Order that the Department of Elections allow the collection of Delegate ballot petition signatures via mail and online. Earlier this month, a judge approved a Consent Decree that the Virginia Department of Elections must develop a contactless way to submit petition signatures for statewide candidates. Our lawsuit is seeking a similar ruling.
Currently, under state law, candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates are required to collect 125 notarized signatures from qualified voters in the district. The submission deadline this year is March 25th. The plaintiffs seek only a change in the method of collection and certification of signatures and not a reduction in the required number of signatures required. As stated in the Complaint: The collection of signatures from qualified voters as mandated in Va. Code § 24.1-521 – and the witness requirement specifically – necessarily requires face-to-face contact between petition gatherers and qualified voters. This face-to-face contact is the exact type of contact that the CDC has advised should be limited to reduce the spread of the virus.
“This seems like a no-brainer given the circumstances,” said Rachel Levy. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, levels of community spread are still high, and we remain in a state of emergency as declared by Governor Ralph Northam. The 55th District has many elderly residents whose health and safety need to be protected from the impact of the covid-19 virus. Being able to submit signatures online or by mail without the notarization requirement will help us to do that. Even without a pandemic, in this digital day and age and in this rural district where going door-to-door can be prohibitive, it’s important we have as many options as possible to facilitate participation in the democratic process.”
Rachel Levy and Friends of Rachel Levy joined Jennifer Adeli for Delegate in this lawsuit with:
- LEE CARTER and CARTER FOR VIRGINIA
- MARK DOWNEY, M.D. and DOWNEY FOR VIRGINIA
- PATRICK FRITZ and FRITZ FOR DELEGATE
- JENNIFER KITCHEN and JENNIFER KITCHEN FOR DELEGATE
- KARISHMA MEHTA and KARISHMA FOR VIRGINIA
The lawsuit was officially filed on February 2, 2021.
Rachel Levy is a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in HD55. The primary date is June 8, 2021 and the general election set for November 2, 2021.
