In a May 14 letter to the Virginia State Board of Elections, election officials in Charles City — a small community between Richmond and Williamsburg — formally requested the ouster of local Electoral Board Member Maria A. Kinney, a Republican who just joined the board in January.

The cause listed in the request was “severe dereliction of duties,” including a claim Kinney allowed a former Charles City County GOP chair, Irene Churins, to view election equipment passwords during an accuracy test.

Kinney’s two colleagues on the board — Republican Gerald Barnes and Democrat Kermit White — signed onto the letter seeking her removal, as did Registrar DeNay L. Harris, who serves in a nonpartisan role and reports to the three board members.

Documents shared with the state board accuse Kinney of disregarding election policies, battling colleagues over how to keep and publish meeting minutes and reportedly telling others she considers herself a “sovereign citizen.” That term usually refers to a staunchly anti-government movement whose members claim they’re exempt from laws they deem illegitimate.