Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom issued the a ruling, declaring that political newcomer Andrea Kiessling, a 35-year-old living in Spencer, is ineligible to be on the ballot.
The judge based that on a state constitutional requirement that political candidates be residents of the state five years prior to running for office. Until the last couple of years, Kiessling voted, paid her taxes and was licensed to drive in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bloom ordered the Secretary of State to withdraw Kiessling’s certificate of candidacy and for votes for Kiessling not to be counted. Clerks in the district are supposed to post signage in polling place doors stating that Kiessling isn’t eligible.
The Secretary of State’s Office intends to adhere to the ruling and will call an emergency meeting of the State Elections Commission to comply, said Mike Queen, spokesman for the office.
After Bloom’s ruling was filed, the lawyer for Kiessling asked for a stay and the judge denied it. The next possibility is going to the state Supreme Court.
She responded to the ruling:
“This is too important. I have worked too hard, and too may people have helped and supported me to back down now. Of course, I am disappointed by the ruling from today,” she said. “Our next step is an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. Many people have already voted in West Virginia, and their voices deserve to be heard.”
Touching on the residency issue, she added, “I am a proud West Virginian. And I returned to West Virginia to raise my children, to help start a Christian school, to bring jobs to West Virginia, to preserve West Virginia values and most importantly to serve the state I love. And I intend to do just that.”
State Senate candidate Andrea Garrett Kiessling, R-W.V., also spoke out Friday on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“My name is on the ballot. It’s still there. There are signs in some precincts that have indicated at my ineligibility. But my name is still on the ballot, and many people have reached out and let me know that they’re still going to be voting for me.”
“I had moved to North Carolina and spent some time there. I split my time between North Carolina, Minnesota and West Virginia in the pursuit of businesses and other opportunities. And yeah, that came down to be the biggest problem. Now, of course, in West Virginia, one of our main concerns is retention of talent. And that’s something that we want to do, is bring people back to West Virginia. My time spent in other states was simply a means to an end to be able to return to West Virginia.”
This is an excerpt from Fox News.
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