Judge removes a school board candidate from the ballot – over a ‘typo’

[UPDATE: The Office Elections has requalified Marcia St. John-Cunning on Nov. 1. She is back on the ballot.]

Marcia St. John-Cunning, a school board candidate for the Franconia District, has been removed from the ballot – just days before the Nov. 7 election – due to a technicality.  

That happened after more than 3,000 registered voters had already voted.

The Fairfax County Democratic Committee, which had endorsed St. John-Cunning, denounced the ruling and is urging Franconia citizens to vote for her as a write-in candidate.

Fairfax County Circuit Judge Richard Gardiner ruled that St. John-Cunning should be disqualified because she incorrectly stated her address on one page of the petition prospective candidates are required to submit to the Office of Elections. She submitted the petition in March with signatures of 125 registered voters, as required, and the Office of Elections certified her candidacy.  

However, the judge invalidated the signatures on the page with the misstated address, which means she submitted less than 125 signatures, and thus did not have enough signatures to be listed on the ballot.

Related story: Ricardy Anderson verbally assaulted while campaigning for re-election

Virginia’s 8th District Republican Committee filed the petition to disqualify St. John-Cunning on Oct. 13, three weeks after early voting started. The only school board candidate for Franconia now on the ballot is Kevin Pinkney, who has been endorsed by the Fairfax County Republican Committee.

“This decision to disenfranchise voters in the middle of an election is outrageous,” said Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Bryan Graham. “The case brought by the 8th Congressional District Republican Committee to undermine our democratic process is disgusting, and the confusion caused by the decision will be catastrophic.”

“The Republican party of today is one that knows their policies on defunding public education, banning books, and bullying children means they cannot win fair elections in Fairfax County,” Graham said.

“I am going to keep running because I am passionate about what I have been doing for the past 25 years,” said St. John-Cunning, who worked as a family liaison and family engagement regional representative for Fairfax County Public Schools. “I am running on a platform where every student in every zip code counts. This unprecedented ruling only amplifies my message – every vote cast by every Franconia District resident counts.”