aCHARLESTON – The West Virginia NAACP and some Democratic lawmakers are calling for the removal and disbarment of state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey for his decision to support a Texas-based lawsuit about presidential election results.
Morrisey dismisses those claims, saying he believes it was his duty as AG to support looking into potential voting irregularities that could erode confidence in the election process.
“The West Virginia NAACP contends that West Virginia State Attorney General Morrissey’s action by joining in the lawsuit in trying to overturn the presidential election was intended to disenfranchise the Black votes in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia,” West Virginia NAACP State President Owens Brown said in a media advisory. “The lawsuit was a direct assault of the on the 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution that gave Black people the right to vote.”
Pushkin
At least three Democrats from the House of Delegates back the NAACP.
“Instead of working to protect the rights of West Virginians and serve our citizens, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is using his office to support racist and un-American efforts to disenfranchise voters who didn’t vote for his party’s candidate,” Delegate Danielle Walker (D-Monongalia) said. “Morrisey does not represent West Virginian values, has violated his oath of office and should be removed from office and disbarred.
“West Virginians deserve an Attorney General who works to solve the serious problems we face — injustices in housing, property rights, criminal and racial justice and other areas — not a grand-stander who wastes time and tax dollars fighting to disenfranchise voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.”
Delegate Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha) agreed, saying Morrisey included the state in a matter it had no reason to get involved in – how other states conduct elections.
“Attorney General Morrisey knew better than to involve West Virginia in a frivolous attempt to undermine the electoral process and disenfranchise thousands of voters,” he said. “He knew this case was going nowhere but chose to waste public funds and precious time to appeal to his base and perpetuate a lie -- a lie that eventually led to violence in our nation’s Capitol.
“I stand with the NAACP in their rebuke of this ridiculous and dangerous political stunt.”
Delegate Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia) echoed those sentiments.
“It offends me that our Attorney General, on my behalf and on behalf of other citizens of this state, would participate in a lawsuit with the goal of preventing the counting of legitimate votes of citizens from the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia,” she said. “Our country fought a Civil War, created this state, and passed the 15th Amendment so that African American citizens would be guaranteed the right to vote.
“This lawsuit was a cynical attempt not to count the votes of citizens in those states, where large majorities of African Americans helped the winner, Joseph Biden, prevail over the candidate the Attorney General preferred. Attorney General Morrisey, who took an oath to uphold our Constitution, must be held accountable for devaluing the most precious right of our country, the right to vote and have one’s vote counted.”
The director of the West Virginia Working Families Party said his group also supports the NAACP’s efforts.
“Enough is enough – Patrick Morrisey is unfit to hold the highest law enforcement office in West Virginia and must be removed,” Ryan Frankenberry said in the NAACP press release.
In response, Morrisey defended his actions in the Texas-based lawsuit, which was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.
“I strongly condemned violence at the U.S. Capitol as it happened Jan. 6 and continue to do so,” Morrisey told The West Virginia Record. “It’s absolutely wrong for these radical, far-left delegates and their allies to make allegations out of thin air and try to politicize the death of a brave law enforcement official and other individuals.
“Our December brief sought to fully investigate allegations that several states had not properly interpreted their own laws as they conducted their elections. It’s absolutely appropriate for a state attorney general to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to get the law right — holding free and fair elections should be one of the most important goals of our republic. That’s what that brief focused on.”
The NAACP said there soon will be a petition on its Facebook page about removing Morrisey from office. It also says a group of lawmakers – including Pushkin, Walker and Fleischauer – will present a resolution calling for Morrisey’s removal during the upcoming legislative session.