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Less than 24 hours before Tuesday's nomination deadline, Democrats tonight will pick their candidate to run for Del. Joseph D. Morrisseys seat in the 74th House District in a process that has sparked a controversy for its exclusiveness.

The firehouse primary, which is held at two locations in Henrico County and Charles City County tonight, is only open to about 100party members "in good standing but not to the general public, according to the rules posted Friday by the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Morrissey, who resigned his House seat last week following a misdemeanor conviction on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor but was seeking to run again in the Jan. 13 special election, announced Saturday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination in what he called "a sham process."

Of the four additional Democrats seeking the bid, one also decided not run run, leaving three on the ballot tonight: Lamont Bagby, a member of the Henrico School Board; Floyd Miles, who served as the 74th District delegate from 2002 to 2006; and Kevin Sullivan, a former political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Republicans and some Democrats - including Paul Goldman, Morrissey's law partner and a former chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia - have criticized the nomination process, alleging it was designed to "shut out the public."

Goldman briefly considered a lawsuit to stop the primary, but because of time restraints, he advised Morrissey not to seek the Democratic nomination. Morrissey, who will hold the seat until the day of the special election, followed Goldman's advice and is now considering a bid as an independent candidate.

Del. Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem, said in a phone interview Monday that by choosing to limit ballot access, Democrats have forfeit their right to accuse Republicans of doing the same.

"Access to the polling place in a nominating process and in a General Election is very important. Anytime you take a process that narrows this access, you ought to look at that closely. In this case, they have taken a step I have never seen before," Habeeb said.

"They had time for organize a real firehouse primary. Why limit it to people who have the money and time to join the committee?" Habeeb asked.

Under the rules, a member in good standing is someone who has filled out their membership application, fulfilled their dues requirement and been voted in as a member before the primary was announced.

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Democrats pick nominee for Morrissey's seat tonight