Members of the Gloucester 40 were "well received" during a presentation to the Virginia State Board of Elections during its meeting Friday in Richmond, according to Arnold Nye, a member of the 40 who spoke on behalf of the group.

The purpose of the presentation was to encourage state officials to create rules and forms that can be used by Virginians wishing to petition for removal of elected officials.

Members of the Gloucester 40, a group of citizens that organized an effort in 2008 to remove four Gloucester County supervisors from office, had hoped that the SBE would adopt their proposal, publish it and distribute it to voter registrars in the commonwealth. "Alas, nothing in government is ever that simple," Nye said.

The removal effort initiated by members of the Gloucester 40 was unsuccessful for procedural technicalities, and the petitioners were ordered to pay $2,000 apiece in sanctions by a visiting circuit court judge.

Since Nye’s presentation...