Swope withdraws Mingo County primary election challenge

A Southern West Virginia senator has dropped his challenge of Mingo County’s primary election results, but said he’s concerned over irregularities with the voting process there it uncovered.

Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, withdrew this challenge Monday with the assurance that the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office will train poll workers and county officials there to address irregularities found during a review of election documents.

“During the course of his review of the poll books, ballot stubs, and other election documents, Senator Swope found that there were numerous irregularities in the Mingo County election that resulted in an impossible number of Republican votes being cast,” attorneys for Swope wrote in the filing. 

Swope lost the Republican nomination to challenger Craig Hart. Districtwide, Hart won 4,847 votes amounting to about 40%, while Swope had 4,384 votes, or approximately 37%. A third candidate, former Del. Eric Porterfield had 2,633 or 22% of the votes. 

In Mingo County, Hart won 75% or 2,152 votes, while Swope captured 364 and Porterfield had 344, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. 

Swope’s June challenge contended that the vote totals reported by Mingo County were incorrect and that some registered Democrats voted in the Republican primary, which is not allowed. 

The filing Monday says that, in precinct 75, for example, poll books show that 93 registered Republicans voted in the primary and another 58 independent voters got a Republican ballot, which should have equaled 151. However, Mingo County reported 187 Republican ballots submitted. Fifty nine registered Democrats voted, but Mingo reported only 31 Democratic ballots submitted, the filing says.

Precinct 75 was the most error-filled, but it was not the only one with irregularities, the filing says. 

“Senator Swope stands by his contention that the irregularities in these precincts should lead them to be excluded entirely,” the court filing says. “However, he recognizes that the legal burden to exclude entire precincts from the vote is extremely high. More than winning the election, Senator Swope wants to ensure these irregularities are corrected and that Mingo County’s primary elections are free from any confusion or controversy in the future. The lessons learned from this election should be used to better train poll workers and officials, not just in Mingo County, but throughout the state.” 

In the same filing, the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office pointed to a lack of compliance with state election laws, and said it will focus on reeducation efforts for poll workers and county officials. 

“In the matter at hand, a review of the election records indicates a lack of compliance with the election laws that pertain to proper receipt and procedure for facilitating voting at the precinct level in a primary election,” the Secretary of State’s Office said. “This lack of compliance existed in several precincts throughout Mingo County. Errors in a small number of precincts on a statewide scale is understandable. However when numerous voters were able to cast a ballot for a political party with which they were not affiliated, such is against the law and falls below the election administration standards this office expects of county elections.”

The office said it will do more to highlight training and guidance for poll workers and officials. A statewide training conference planned for fall 2025 will include training for processing affiliated voters in the primary election, the office said. 

In a statement filed before the Mingo commission, Hart said he echoed Swope’s concerns about irregularities, but noted there were not 463, the margin of victory for the election. He contended they were the result of good faith misunderstandings, not intentional fraud. 

“Mr. Hart joins Senator Swope’s desire to have the lessons learned from this election contest implemented in poll worker training in Mingo County and throughout the state,” attorneys for Hart wrote. “Mr. Hart believes that the problems disclosed in Mingo County also occurred in other counties in this senate district and across the state, but time did not permit a full investigation.”

He added that he applauds the Secretary of State Office’s commitment to training and said if he’s elected he’ll work to review the state code for improvements that can be done to limit them in the future. 

A message for Mingo County Commission president Tom Taylor was not immediately returned Monday.