LYNCHBURG, Va. – During a court hearing on Wednesday, a judge dismissed candidate, Chris White’s original complaint, saying he sued under the wrong name, “Chris White for City of Lynchburg Commonwealth Attorney” versus himself as an individual, “Chris White.” However, the court granted White permission to amend his complaint and return to court.
White is suing over how his name appears on the ballot for the City of Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney. He says voters know him as Chris White, not Christopher G. White, and that the mix-up could confuse voters at the polls. He is asking for voting to be paused, any previously submitted votes to be redone, and for more than $900,000 in damages.
White says he learned about the incorrect name on the ballot on October 19th.
“I didn’t realize they put my name on the ballot wrong until after the mail-in ballots went out,” White told 10 News before the hearing. “I’ve gone as Chris my whole life. The only person that calls me Christopher is my mother when she’s not happy with me.”
In court, the defendant, the Virginia Department of Elections, argued that although they create the ballots, they do so with candidate information given to them by the city’s general registrar. They said it is not the Elect’s responsibility to collect candidate information. They also called White’s lawsuit speculative, saying it assumes he would lose the election due to how his name is written on the ballot.
The judge seemed to side with that view. Though no ruling on the full complaint has been made, the judge said: “Whether Chris or Christopher, you could still win the election regardless.” The judge also said the wrong defendant was named. White says he plans to move forward by filing against the City of Lynchburg Registrar’s Office. He noted he submitted documents quickly to get it to court given the “emergency timing.”
“It is unfortunate when we have to use the court systems to get our government to do what the Virginia law says they’re supposed to do,” White told 10 News after the hearing.
White says under Virginia law, specifically Virginia Code 24.2-501, a candidate must file with the general registrar a “written statement … under oath … that he is qualified to vote for and hold the office for which he is a candidate.” That statute further states that “The candidate may state, as part of his statement of qualification, how he would like his name to appear on the ballot; however, all names printed on the ballot shall meet the criteria established by the State Board.”
“It’s not the hill that I want to die on either,” White said. “I understand that this is just a typo, it’s a human mistake. I get that. But they need to fix it and they are not.“
His opponent, Republican incumbent Bethany Harrison, questioned both the lawsuit and its timing.
“He waited until now when most of early voting is over to file his lawsuit.” Harison told 10 News. “It’s completely frivolous.”
White says before going to court, he reached out to the city’s registrar’s office a few times with no luck. He says he is focused on holding officials accountable and plans to return to court in the coming days.