The Morgantown City Clerk, in coordination with the West Virginia
Secretary of State’s (WVSOS) office, has completed a review of the 2019 city
council candidate petitions and all but one, Seventh Ward candidate Aaron Metz,
was found to meet the threshold of 75 signatures. This means that Metz will not
be included on ballot for the upcoming municipal election.
The validity of signatures on candidate petitions was called into
question at a recent city council meeting. Upon review, it was determined that
there was enough information to conduct a more thorough examination into the
petitions. It was at this time that the City Clerk, as the city’s chief
elections official, contacted the WVSOS office for guidance.
The WVSOS office took the lead on the review and worked closely with
the City Clerk to interview candidates and review petition signatures against
voter registrations. After the petitions were reviewed, it was determined that
only Seventh Ward candidate Aaron Metz did not meet the threshold of 75 signatures.