Accusations may lead to shake-up of Charles City Electoral Board

A shake-up to Charles City County’s Electoral Board may be on the way after accusations of illegally sharing information from a voting machine.

According to information received and a letter received by the Chronicle, the Virginia Board of Elections have been asked by two members of Charles City County’s Electoral Board, Gerald Barnes and Kermit White, to have asked for a third member, Maria Kinney, be removed. Charles City County Registrar Denay Harris also signed the letter.

Claims by the board members shared during a public meeting with Virginia’s Board of Elections state that Kinney disregarded implemented election parties, claiming to be a ‘sovereign citizen’, a person who claims to be exempt from laws they believe are illegitimate. Kinney denied those claims in the public meeting.

Kinney was appointed this past January to serve on the committee, being sworn in by a judge and told to take an oath. But her alleged actions have resulted in action being taken in Charles City, with concerns voiced by both the Republican (represented by Barnes) and Democratic (represented by White) parties in Charles City.

This is not the first issue that has arisen with the electoral board. Irene Churins, a resident of Charles City, was removed as GOP chair of the Republican Party, as part of accusations that Kinney allowed Churins to view election equipment passwords during an accuracy test, something this is illegal under state law. Barnes said he advised Kinney of the illegality, something she adamantly rebutted according to Barnes.

As of this time, no action has been taken regarding Kinney by Virginia’s Board of Elections if she will be removed. Churins did speak during Charles City’s Board of Supervisor’s May 28 meeting.

“We all vote, and I think it’s important to know how the process is,” she said during the public comment period of Charles City’s meeting. “It is more important to watch what happens with the absentee ballots, especially the mailed-in ballots.”

Churins rattled off dates of meetings for both pre and post-election.

“You can see what happened when they put all the numbers together,” she added. “It’s a canvas meeting, and that’s also opened to the public on June 20. But the dates and times do change.

“I think it’s important that people should know how voting takes place and it’s a very important function for all of us,” Churins concluded.