Lawton City Council candidate plans suit after election board removes him from ballot

The Comanche County Election Board removed a Lawton City Council Ward 6 candidate from the ballot Wednesday, but Jacobi Crowley said he will file suit against the decision.

The three-member board was reacting to a challenge made by Ward 6 Councilman Robert Weger, who said in his documentation that Crowley didn’t meet the requirements specified in city charter to file for the office. The board’s unanimous decision means Weger is the sole candidate for Ward 6. He is expected to take the seat without participating in the City Council’s Sept. 12 primary election.

Crowley argues that state statues — which have been upheld by other entities, including the Oklahoma State Election Board — specify that challenges to a candidacy must be specific and explicit, and Weger’s petition was neither. Crowley’s argument was that Weger’s written challenge stated Crowley was not qualified to run for the office because he did not meet residency requirements, but Weger then argued before the election board that Crowley didn’t meet voter registration requirements.

Under the terms of the city charter (city government’s guiding document), candidates for council must be registered voters at an address within the ward they seek to represent for six months prior to filing for office. State statues make the same requirement for state candidates.

Crowley said the argument that he has not been a registered voter within Ward 6 for six months is not the issue, “because it was not on the face of the petition.” And, by ignoring that fact, the election board was ignoring state law.

Weger said he filed the challenge because Crowley does not meet the charter criteria, saying that when he checked records, Crowley specified he has been a registered voter at that address since March 7, despite answering “yes” when the declaration of candidacy asked if he met the six-month requirement.

“He’s still short 30 days of the requirement,” Weger said, explaining that with a March 7 registration date, Crowley won’t meet the voter registration requirement until Sept. 7 (the candidacy filing period was July 31-Aug. 2). “Clearly, Mr. Crowley does not meet the requirement.”

Crowley reiterated that Weger’s petition was not specific or explicit about the reason for the challenge, saying only he hadn’t lived in the ward long enough. Crowley said he has lived in his home since December, well within the city charter’s six-month residency requirement. He also said while he first tried to change his voter registration to his new address in Ward 6 in February, he discovered his application hadn’t been processed, and he filed again in March.

District Attorney Kyle Cabelka, the election board’s legal adviser, told board members their decision would hinge on what Crowley’s voter registration indicates. He also took Crowley to task for not answering specific questions from board members, including when he registered to vote at his Ward 6 address. Noting that March 7 is what the election board records show and that Weger’s petition was clear in what he was challenging, Cabelka said he advised the board that Weger’s challenge petition was valid.

Board members agreed, unanimously voting to strike Crowley’s name from the Sept. 12 ballot. Cabelka said the Election Board’s decision is final.

After the hearing, Crowley said he plans to file suit against the decision because the election board didn’t follow the law that specifies a petition challenging a candidacy must be specific and explicit.

“It has to be clear,” he said.