THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by state Republican Chairman Patrick M. McSweeney challenging Virginia's open primary election law.
The ruling, which McSweeney suggested he may appeal, means that all registered voters can cast ballots in the June 11 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
Two GOP leaders - McSweeney and Del. Robert Marshall of Prince William County - sought to restrict primary ballots to voters who declare loyalty to Republican principles.
U.S. District Judge Richard Williams ruled that McSweeney and Marshall lacked standing to challenge the open primary, which was approved last December by the party's 80-member central committee.
Williams said that any challenge to the primary would have to be brought by the GOP itself rather than by two individuals he described as ``mavericks'' who are discontent with their party's decision.
``Certainly that would have been the orderly way to go about business rather than having disgruntled individuals of an organization as rich as the Republican Party come forward when the party adopts plans that don't fit the purity of thought they desire,'' Williams said.
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner insisted on the primary under a law that gives incumbent statewide officeholders the power to chose their method of nomination. Warner is facing a tough primary challenge from James C. Miller III, a former federal budget chief.
McSweeney and Marshall are among a large group of conservatives who have been angered by Warner's refusal to support two recent GOP nominees - Oliver L. North for U.S. Senate in 1994 and Michael P. Farris for lieutenant governor in 1993.
Many of the conservatives hoped the party would make its nomination at a state convention, believing that Warner would have little chance of overcoming the wrath of party activists.
The primary is open to all - not just Republicans - because Virginia does not register voters by party affiliation. Many conservative critics of Warner have voiced concern that the senator will encourage independents and Democrats to cast ballots.
Daniel A. Carrell, an attorney for McSweeney and Marshall, argued that the party had no power to control its nomination this year. He said the central committee, under law, was required to honor Warner's demand for a primary.
``Now it's being told it has to let Democrats vote, who are in active opposition to the party,'' Carrell said. ``If the party's not free to determine who gets its nomination, what's left?''
R. Hewitt Pate, an attorney for Warner, questioned whether McSweeney was trying to thwart the primary with a last-minute action.
He noted that Warner had informed the chairman in February 1995 that he would insist on a primary, and McSweeney waited a year to file suit.
Williams, in his ruling, also said ``there is no way'' the court could fashion a way to limit participation to Republicans without delaying the June 11 primary.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT PRIMARY ELECTION LAW by CNB