Independent mayoral candidate a registered Democrat
William Bill Carpenter is running in Charlestons mayoral race as an independent candidate, but hes actually a registered Democrat.
The Secretary of States office said that he can run as an independent, Deputy City Clerk Cari Morris told the Gazette.
Carpenter had to get at least 50 valid signatures and pay the $1,000 filing fee to run as an independent in the citys general election, Morris said.
Carpenter, who lives in Kanawha City, said he didnt see the need to change his voter registration for the election.
Ive usually voted as an independent, trying to pick the best candidate for any office in the past even though I was registered as a Democrat, Carpenter said.
He doesnt vote straight party on ballots, he said.
The Secretary of States office confirmed Carpenter is a registered Democrat. Spokeswoman Amber Epling said state code allows candidates registered in mainstream parties to run unaffiliated in a general election.
What this means is that groups of people from all party affiliations can nominate a candidate to represent them on the general ballot, Epling wrote in an email to the Gazette.
Case law shows that nominees by those groups do not have to change their voter registration, Epling wrote.
Carpenter, 70, hasnt run for office before.
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Independent mayoral candidate a registered Democrat