RICHMOND, Va. -- A lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party of Virginia against the Richmond Registrar has been pushed back.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Party tells CBS 6 that they're working to reach an agreement with the Richmond Registrar following a lawsuit over absentee ballots.
Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker filed the suit Monday against Kirk Showalter, General Registrar for the City of Richmond.
The lawsuit, which was scheduled to heard in court Wednesday afternoon, claimed the city's top election official failed to fully respond to a public records request regarding absentee voters.
Swecker says on October 9 she requested records from Showalter related to absentee voters whose returned materials are identified as containing material errors and omissions.
In the lawsuit, Swecker says 17 days after she first made the request, Showalter first denied that she had any responsive records, and then produced only limited information, which she characterized as inaccurate.
"She has not yet provided a complete production of the requested documents. And she has done so without any justifiable reason," the lawsuit states.
Party officials allege that Showalter’s failure to turn over the list is a violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
During the October meeting of the Richmond Electoral Board Tuesday night, chairman Jim Nachman addressed the lawsuit, saying that no one was trying to hide information. Nachman said he was made aware the list of ballots that needed to be cured was not being maintained and election officials corrected the issue.
Nachman distributed an updated list of voters who needed to fix issues with their absentee ballots to anyone who wanted one, including representatives of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
To date, Nachman said Showalter reports 97 ballots that need curing and said he’s been assured that “most” of the voters have already been contacted.
