Ballot Petitions Are Legal Documents That Must Be Accurate: Letter

The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora in response to the Fairfax County General Register disqualifying Maria St. John-Cunning as candidate for the Fairfax County School Board in the Franconia District. Lundquist-Arora is a former candidate for one of the at-large seats on the school board, but she withdrew from the race in September 2022.

The disqualification of Maria St. John-Cunning for Fairfax County’s school board is symptomatic of her lack of professionalism and attention to detail.

Fairfax Democrats and their media mob are advocating for St. John-Cunning and incorrectly implying a narrative of injustice in her disqualification. In reality, ballot petitions are legal, notarized documents that must be accurate to preserve election integrity. This is true for all candidates without exception. St. John-Cunning, who swore under oath that the information in her ballot petition was accurate, had duplicated and undated signatures, and somehow, an incorrect home address.

Voters raised these concerns to Eric Spicer, Fairfax County’s General Registrar, in August, but they were ignored for far too long. It’s unfortunate that he did not address these issues when they were first brought to his attention. Also, rather than submitting more than the required number of signatures, as most candidates seeking office do, St. John-Cunning submitted the minimal 125 signatures. These types of shortcuts not only legitimately invalidate St. John-Cunning’s ballot petition, but should give voters serious pause about her ability to oversee the district’s $3.5 billion budget.

In contrast, Kevin Pinkney, the other candidate running in the Franconia District, is a Harvard-educated lawyer with five children, two who currently attend public schools in Fairfax County. Restoring academic excellence in our schools, the reason that most of us moved to the area, is a central tenet of Pinkney’s campaign.

St. John-Cunning justly was disqualified from the race, but Pinkney was always the better candidate.