Robertson was ineligible to be a candidate for county clerk

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 1 p.m. – Due to her voter registration, Frances C. Robertson, a Democratic candidate from New Haven who ran for Nelson County clerk in last Tuesday's primary election, was not eligible to be a Democratic candidate.

Frances Robertson's voter registration made her ineligible to be a Democratic candidate for county office. Click the image to enlarge.

Robertson came in 10th out of the 12 candidates on the ballot, with 118 votes or 1.46 percent of the total.

Robertson was ineligible to be a Democratic candidate for clerk because her voter registration card on file with the Nelson County Clerk's office did not indicate she was registered as a Democrat. Robertson's card, a copy of which is shown at right, indicates that rather than select a party affiliation, she checked the "Other" box and in the spot for party name she wrote "Both."

A notation next to the party selection states that "If you select "other" as your party affiliation, you are eligible to vote for only nonpartisan offices in any primary election."

State law requires a voter to select a party affiliation. The state's closed primary system allows only those who are affiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties to cast votes for candidates in those party's primary elections. State law requires a candidate who seeks to run for any office in a party's primary must also be registered and eligible to vote in that party's primary.

In her 15-day pre election campaign finance report, Robertson reported that she had spent just under $10,000 in her bid for the clerk's race in the Democratic primary.

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