The state Supreme Court on Tuesday set oral arguments for next week in Erik Wells' appeal of a Kanawha Circuit Court ruling that declared him ineligible to run as an independent for Kanawha County clerk.
Wells, a former state senator, said he was encouraged that the high court agreed to hear the appeal.
"If they totally agreed with the circuit court decision, they could have upheld it and been done with it," he said Tuesday.
On Aug. 18, Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King ruled that Wells could not run as an independent for county clerk since he is a registered Democrat. King held that the process to petition to appear on general election ballots is available only to independent or non-affiliated candidates, since they do not have primary elections to select nominees.
During a hearing six days earlier, Wells testified that he had not intended to run for county clerk until late June, following a series of news reports in May and June about errors in the county clerk's office in redrawing precinct maps that resulted in hundreds of May primary voters voting in the wrong delegate or senatorial districts.
His decision came well past the May primary election and the deadline for the county Democratic Executive Committee to fill the ballot vacancy for the office.
Wells' attorney, Pat Maroney, argued that Wells has a right to run as an independent under the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
King, however, dismissed Wells' petition as a back-door attempt to get on the Nov. 8 ballot. "This is not a case of ballot access, but a case of too little, too late," the judge ruled.
The outcome of Wells' appeal could affect candidates in at least two other counties. They, like Wells, are running as independents despite having party affiliations.
If the court upholds King's ruling, incumbent County Clerk Vera McCormick, a Republican, will be unopposed in the general election.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, McCormick said she was pleased that the Supreme Court "acted swiftly."
"I have all the confidence in our Supreme Court to render a fair and just decision," McCormick said.
Wells is married to Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, the state's chief elections official. Arguments in the case are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 7.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.