CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia officials have appealed a federal judge’s ruling that the way candidates are placed on ballots in the state is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers issued an injunction Monday ordering West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner to establish a new way to determine the order that candidates appear on ballots before the Nov. 3 general election.
Warner appealed Tuesday, asking the court to stop the injunction, so that even if it agrees with the ruling, the state wouldn’t have to revamp the ballot until after the election, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Dakota Nelson. The Democratic Party candidate for the state House in District 16 challenged the state law that says “the party whose candidate for president received the highest number of votes at the last preceding presidential election is to be placed in the left, or first column, row or page.”
Chambers wrote in his order that said the law in question is an “unquestionably partisan provision.”
Warner declined to comment on the case Tuesday since it is an ongoing legal proceeding.
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