Fraudulent signatures collected by Virginia Republican Rep. Scott Taylor’s campaign workers for independent candidate Shaun Brown got Brown thrown off the ballot ahead of the Nov. 6 general election, according to a judge’s order Wednesday.
Taylor, Brown and Democrat Elaine Luria were in a three-way race for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District until the judge’s ruling.
“The plan is to fight it with an appeal,” Brown told The Daily Caller News Foundation by telephone Wednesday. “Our position this morning is and was that there is no precedent. … We are now going to be going to the Virginia Supreme Court.”
Brown plans to confer with her lawyers and take action before the Sept. 21 cutoff date when ballots are printed.
TheDCNF called Taylor’s campaign after the ruling Wednesday but was told the campaign managers who could comment were not available.
Taylor had acknowledged that he knew members of his campaign were helping Brown but said he knew nothing about the improper signatures, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
The ruling was part of a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) against state election officials who let Brown run despite incorrect addresses on her forms and the fraudulent signatures, reported The Virginian-Pilot.
Brown admitted to a “mistake on our part” regarding incorrect addresses on her filings in a conversation with The Virginian-Pilot. But she and her campaign had “no idea” about the fraudulent signatures, Brown told TheDCNF.
More than 80 signatures on petitions to put the independent candidate on the ballot were fraudulent, and some purported to be the names of dead people, reported The Virginian-Pilot. The Virginia State Police is conducting a criminal probe into the matter.
DPVA asserts that Taylor’s campaign wanted Brown on the ballot to siphon votes from Luria, according to The Virginian-Pilot. Brown has run for office as a Democrat previously, she told TheDCNF.
“We are fighting for diversity in the Democratic party,” Brown told TheDCNF after accusing the DPVA of perpetuating establishment politics.
“Today’s decision is [a] win for the integrity of our elections,” DPVA Communications Director Jake Rubenstein said, according to a statement on DPVA’s website. “So many questions now rest squarely with Congressman Taylor, who did not get the result he wanted of having a third party candidate on the ballot.” (RELATED: Google Is A No-Show At Senate Social Media Hearing)
Taylor was subpoenaed to testify at Wednesday’s hearing, but the judge said the congressman was exempt because the House of Representatives was in session, according to 13 News Now.
Follow Evie on Twitter @eviefordham.
Send tips to evie@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.