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School board candidate one step closer to ballot

Posted at 12:32 PM, Aug 16, 2012
and last updated 2012-08-22 18:32:58-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Tichi Pinkney-Eppes is another step closer to being on the Richmond school board ballot this November.

Wednesday the Richmond Board of Elections voted in favor of allowing Eppes' name. Pinkney-Eppes, the only candidate to sign up for the Ninth District School Board race, was disqualified from the Ninth District School Board race for not submitting enough valid signatures.

Pinkney-Eppes submitted 181 of the needed 125 signatures. However, the Richmond Electoral Board deemed 59 invalid, leaving Eppes with just 122 signatures. [BONUS: Read the complete lawsuit here]

Pinkney-Eppes' attorneys asked election officials to review their findings -- but they were denied, so the attorneys filed a lawsuit over the procedures for disqualifying some of the signatures.

After reaching an agreement with state lawyers, Judge Henry Hudson signed off to get  Eppes on the ballot, saying she met the required 125 signatures.

Hudson ruled, "a number of the signatures on Eppes' petition should have been counted that some of the disqualified signatures were valid." [BONUS: Read the judge's consent order]

The decision is now expected to go to the Virginia State Board of Elections to be certified.