A ballot name dispute in Lynchburg has officially been put to rest after a judge once again dismissed Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Chris White’s complaint over how his name appears on the ballot.
The judge ruled it was “too little too late” to make any ballot changes, meaning the election will continue with the ballots as printed.
White had sued the city’s registrar’s office, arguing that listing his name as “Christopher G. White” could confuse voters who know him only as “Chris White.”
“I’m asking them to correct the ballot, and they didn’t,” White told 10 News after the hearing. “But I think something good will come from this, though. I think they’re going to make sure they have the ballot correct before they start putting it out.”
In court, the city’s defense argued White had multiple opportunities to address the issue before ballots were printed, including attending a public accuracy-testing session, but did not attend.
The defense also said more than 7,400 ballots were already cast, and making any change now would cause a serious delay in next week’s election.
Bethany Harrison, the incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney and White’s opponent, said the court made the right call. “The court found that extraordinary remedy of halting the election and invalidating over 7,000 votes already cast would disenfranchise thousands of voters,” Harrison told 10 News. “And would be wholly inappropriate for what my opponent was alleging the difference between Chris and Christopher on the ballot.”
The judge also noted procedural issues with White’s filing, including that his complaint was not notarized or submitted under oath, as required for a writ of mandamus. He added that only the governor has the authority to pause early voting, and even then, only in emergency cases.
White questioned how long it realistically takes for the city’s registrar to reprint a ballot before Election Day if they wanted.
“Realistically, they were going to find any reason they could to get rid of it,” White said. ”They didn’t follow the law back in January and created a situation where I wasn’t able to find out what they put on the ballot until later on."
Local residents had mixed reactions to the dispute.
“I just think that whatever his legal name is should be the same name on the ballot,” said Hannah Waszary.
“I think he thinks the voters are stupid,” said Peggy Liston. “I don’t think anyone would be confused that Chris is the shortened version of Christopher.”
“They need to get his name right on the ballot, but $900,000 come on,” said Jared Hesse.
“I kind of get it, I mean, it makes sense because my name is Ellie, but originally the full name is Elynora,” said Elynora Buchholz.
“I don’t think voters are that dumb, but you got to be specific with these things,” said Will Malone. “But I’d probably sue for about $5,000. Don’t take it out of the city’s pockets, we got to keep the roads nice and the sidewalks clean.”
With the court’s ruling, the ballot will remain unchanged. Early voting in Lynchburg continues through Saturday, and Election Day is next Tuesday.