The Republican consultant from Michigan who advised Sen. Rand Paul’s presidential campaign is trying to get himself elected as a delegate to the 2016 GOP nominating convention, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands.
But according to the territory’s department of elections, John Yob and his wife, Erica, as well as allies Lindsey and Ethan Eilon, submitted false information to skirt the Virgin Islands’ law that requires candidates for delegate to be residents of the islands for at least 90 days to register to vote, and by extension, to run for GOP delegate.
According to a letter that territory supervisor of elections Caroline Fawkes sent to U.S. Virgin Islands GOP Chairman John Canegata obtained by the Washington Examiner, all four have been ruled ineligible and won’t be able to register to vote until late March. Additionally, Fawkes said the Yobs registered on St. Thomas after being told by the elections office in St. John that he was ineligible per the residency requirement.
“Mr. Yob appeared at the St. Johns Elections Office in order to register to vote in early January. He was informed by the elections assistant he has to reside in the Virgin Islands for ninety (90) days before he can register,” Fawkes wrote in the letter. “He informed the elections assistant he arrived on the island the week before, which made him ineligible. He then took the information gained and traveled to the St. Thomas Elections Office and provided a falsified date within the parameters to meet the requirement.”
Yob disputes the charges laid out by Fawkes in the letter. He says local Republicans who oppose his candidacy for delegate are playing politics. Among Yob’s allies, and backing his side of the story is Herbert L. Schoenbohm, the former chairman of the Virgin Islands GOP.
“My filing in court this morning against the controversial board of elections makes clear that I meet the requirements to vote and that this is an abuse of power by Board of Elections member Liliana Belardo to help her husband and daughter win the selection contest for convention delegate,” Yob said in an email exchange. “The requirement is 90 days from the next election in August of 2016, not 90 days from the time you move to St. John. I live on St. John with my family, and my children go to school on St John. I was truthful when I stated on my form that I moved to St. John in 2015.”
MIRS, a subscription political news service in Michigan, reported that Yob recently moved to the Virgin Islands and is running for one of the six GOP delegate slots that make up the territory’s delegation to the Republican national convention in Cleveland. Delegate votes could prove pivotal to the outcome of the presidential primary if the convention is contested, a real possibility for the first time in 40 years.
Republican sources on the U.S. Virgin Islands confirmed MIRS’ reporting to the Examiner. GOP insiders there who oppose him say they believe the Yobs and the Eilons are trying to get elected as delegates as a bloc, which would give them control over the delegation. It’s a subject matter Yob knows a little something about: He is the author of the book Chaos, about how a contested convention might work.
Donald Trump is the clear front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. But he is trailed closely by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the hunt for GOP nominating delegates, and it’s not clear if Trump will be able to clear the 1,237 threshold before the July convention and avoid having to fight it out for the support of delegates in Cleveland.
UPDATE:
Virgin Islands Superior Court Judge Kathleen Mackay has granted a temporary restraining order against the terrirtory’s department of elections and its decision to reject the voter regislations submitted by Yob, his wife, and the Eilons. That means the four of them could be eligible to run for delegate to the GOP nominating convention in Cleveland in upcoming elections in the USVI, pending the outcome of the case.
“I appreciate the court granting this restraining order against the Board of Elections and look forward to participating in the caucuses and maintaining my rights as a voter,” John Yob said in a statement emailed to the Examiner. “Voting rights is a bigger issue than John Yob or anyone else – it is a fundamental right that should not be infringed upon by biased officials. Board of Elections Chairwoman Lilliana Belardo overstepped her bounds when she utilized her position to benefit her family in the caucuses. Hopefully this will deter her from abusing her power and protect the rights of other Virgin Islanders into the future.”
Yob is accusing local Republican officials of manipuliating the process to benefit their preferred delegate candidates. USVI GOP Chairman John Canegata said in an interview this week that his only concern was that the process is run fairly and treats everyone equally and according to the law. A message left for Fawkes on Thursday had yet to be returned.
