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Friday, March 29, 2024

Court throws out Logan judge’s election petition

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LOGAN – A special court threw out Logan Circuit Judge William Douglas Witten’s petition to overturn votes so he could remain on the bench.

Witten lost the race in the May 10 primary by 59 votes to Joshua Butcher. Witten sought to overturn those votes that were cast in several county precincts.

The three-member special court filed its order on Oct. 17 with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s office stating that the evidence of errors by election officials in Bulwark, Sharples and Lane precincts did not “rise to the level of demonstrating that their actions amounted to misconduct affecting the result of the election or rendering it unfair.”

Witten claimed voters were wrongly influenced by an attack on state Senate candidate Richard Ojeda days before the election and he filed the petition June 6 to overturn the results.

Witten argued that he was associated with a political faction opposite Ojeda and that publicity that accompanied Ojeda's attack not only defeated Art Kirkendoll, who ran against Ojeda, but those associated with the senator suffered the loss of election votes as well.

The judge also claimed that certain precincts should be discounted, such as Precinct One (Bulwark) because ten more votes were counted in the precinct than voters who signed the poll book.

Witten also alleges that Precinct Two (Striker) had “election irregularities,” but he did not list what they were.

The petition also alleged election violations in three other precincts.

Tomblin, Witten and Butcher each got to choose someone to serve as judge on a three-member special court to decide the petition. The panel heard arguments in August in Logan.

Tomblin chose Charleston lawyer James S. Arnold; Witten chose John Counts, who had served as treasurer of his campaign; and Butcher chose former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Last year, Tomblin appointed Witten to the vacancy created when longtime judge Roger Perry retired. Butcher is Perry's former law clerk.

Witten has 30 days to appeal.

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