MINGO COUNTY The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV) has filed a lawsuit following an error found on Mingo County ballots last week.
ACLU-WV filed a Writ of Mandamus on Election Day in Mingo County Circuit Court. Nearly seven hundred early voters in Mingo County received ballots listing an incorrect candidate for West Virginia’s Sixth Senatorial District. Democratic candidate Jeff DiSibbio's name had been mistakenly replaced with Randy Fowler, a primary candidate disqualified after the May election. DiSibbio officially filed to run on August twentieth, 2024, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website.
Mingo County Clerk Larry "Yogi" Croaff said his office discovered the mistake on Monday, October twenty-eighth, immediately suspending early voting and contacting the Secretary of State’s office and Election Systems & Software for assistance. Early voting resumed later that afternoon after the issue was resolved.
Croaff noted that affected ballots were not discarded. Corrected ballots were mailed to all voters who requested absentee ballots, allowing anyone who wants to change their vote to do so. Voters who had already submitted an absentee ballot were given several options: they could keep their vote as is, submit a corrected ballot, vote in person at the courthouse during early voting, or vote at their precinct on Election Day, canceling their original absentee ballot. Early in-person voters also had the option to recast their vote.
ACLU-West Virginia noted prior issues in Mingo County’s primary election, where candidates alleged voter irregularities, including cross-party voting and privacy concerns. However, the Mingo County Clerk’s Office reported no irregularities after completing a