Election Board: You win some, you lose some on candidate filings

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OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Election board shot down the campaigns of three candidates and allowed nine other candidates to remain on the ballot during a marathon meeting last Monday.

Like a filing period, the candidate challenges signal the start of the state’s campaign season. Last Monday’s meeting saw a majority of the candidate challenges fail. But three contests – a race for district judge and two contests for seats in the House of Representatives – had candidates removed.

Brian Young, a candidate for Oklahoma County District Judge, Jennifer Kerstetter, a candidate for House District 65 and LaShanya Nash, who was seeking the House District 85 seat, were all removed from the ballot.

Young was removed from the ballot after the incumbent judge, Kaitlyn Allen, filed a petition that said Young was not a legal resident of the proper electoral division when he filed for office. Young told the election board he had moved to his aunt and uncle’s home prior to filing. He said he moved into the area in order to run for the post.

Young said his wife and their pets remain at the couple’s other house and that he wants to sell that house and move into a new home.

Commissioners voted 3-0 to remove Young from the ballot.

Kerstetter, a candidate for DH 65, did not appear before the election board. State Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, a Republican from Elgin, contested Kerstetter’s candidacy, saying she was not a registered voter in House District 65 for six months prior to the filing period.

Hasenbeck’s attorney, Matthew Files, said Kerstetter contacted him and apologized for the mistake and said she would not be at the hearing. Kerstetter’s removal means that Hasenbeck will maintain the seat for the next two years.

In House District 85, LaShanya Nash was removed from the ballot because she was not a resident of the district. Nash confirmed her status during the election board meeting and apologized.

“I’m sorry I wasted every person’s time,” she said.

While the three candidates were removed from their ballots, nine others remained, including the state Representative who filed for office as “The Patriot.” ((Who is this??))

In Stephens County, associate district judge candidate Lawrence Wheeler was allowed to remain on the ballot provided he amend his confidential declaration of candidacy request form.

Wheeler was challenged by former state Senator Anthony Sykes, who said Wheeler was not a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program. Following the board’s vote, Wheeler corrected the filing form.

In Muskogee, incumbent District Attorney Larry Edwards will remain on the ballot after the election board denied the challenge by Matthew Price, who said Edwards was not registered to vote in Muskogee County prior to filing for office.

In House District 79 Stanley Stevens, a candidate for the office, was allowed to remain on the ballot after a challenge by Karen Gilbert. Gilbert said Stevens had pled guilty to several felony drug charges in 2008 and was unable to seek office until 15 years after the completion of his sentence.

Stevens countered that his record had been expunged.

“I don’t hide my past. I’m not proud of it. But the law is the law,” Stevens said. “And the law says this has never occurred.”

State Rep. Sean Roberts, a Republican from Hominy, was allowed to remain on the ballot for state labor commissioner after he agreed to amend his declaration of candidate by removing the words “The Patriot” from his name.

The three-member election board also turned down a petition to remove Allison Lafferty, an associate district judge in Blaine County, from the ballot. Jenna Brown, a candidate opposing Lafferty, said Lafferty was not an actual resident of the county and, therefore, was ineligible for the seat.

Lafferty said she and her husband, Todd, purchased a second home in Yukon to assist their adult son who suffers from severe schizophrenia.

Lafferty said she and her husband did not like to leave their son alone in their Yukon home. She said her son needed to be closer to mental health resources which was why he stayed in Yukon. 

She told the election board she had “never looked for a home to change my address.”

 

Democrat Jason Lowe’s name will remain on the ballot for the House District 97 seat after the election board voted unanimously to shoot down a challenge by Lowe’s opponent Lisa Janloo. Echoing other challenges, Janloo said Lowe did not live within the district.

In House District 43, incumbent Representative Cynthia Roe, a Republican from Lindsay, said Matthew Huggans should be removed from the ballot because he was not a resident of the district and not listed as a registered voter prior to the deadline of Dec. 31, 2021.

The debate centered on property Huggans purchased in the district. Huggans said he had the property renovated and told the board he had changed his voter registration to meet the candidacy requirements prior to the December 31 deadline.

Roe’s argument fell short. The election board denied her challenge in a 3-0 vote.

District Judge Natalie Mai remained on the ballot despite a challenge by her opponent Beau Phillips. Phillips said Mai was not an actual resident of Oklahoma County prior to the filing period.

Mai’s attorney, Lexie Norwood, said Mai’s candidacy had been previously contested for the same reason and that challenge, too, had been shot down. Norwood said Mai lives in a condominium in Oklahoma County and purchased a home for her mother in Cleveland County.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Jason Bollinger’s attempt to have candidate Madison Horn removed from the ballot was shot down by a unanimous vote of the election board.

Bollinger argued that Horn was not qualified to run for the seat because her declaration of candidacy form was incomplete and contained false information. Bollinger said Horn was not registered to vote in Oklahoma and had not been registered as a Democrat six months prior to seeking the seat.

Horn’s attorney, Brian Jones, said Bollinger’s argument was not based on law.

“Mr. Bollinger is just asking this board to just make up a requirement that a candidate for federal office has to be registered to vote for a given period of time as a Democrat, and that’s just not that law,” he said.

Oklahomans will go to the polls on Tuesday, June 28 for the state’s primary election. Early voting will begin on Thursday, June 23 and continue through Saturday, June 25.