Lawyers representing Democratic Virginia House of Delegates candidate Shelly Simonds (pictured) on Tuesday asked the state's Board of Elections to “delay the determination by lot that is scheduled for tomorrow." | Rob Ostermaier/The Daily Press via AP
A Democratic House of Delegates candidate in Virginia is seeking to delay a Wednesday morning drawing that would determine the winner of the state’s 94th District in Newport News and the balance of power in the chamber.
A three-judge panel last week declared a tie between incumbent Republican Del. David Yancey and Democrat Shelly Simonds, who had won a recount by a single vote one day earlier. The panel had determined that a vote originally not counted because of double markings was intended for Yancey.
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Lawyers representing Simonds on Tuesday asked the Virginia State Board of Elections to “delay the determination by lot that is scheduled for tomorrow … until the three-judge recount panel has an opportunity to rule on” a motion for suspension and a motion for reconsideration.
“A decision by the three-judge recount panel to suspend its order and reconsider its determination that the recount between Mrs. Simonds and David Yancey ended in a tie could moot the need for the Board to hold the drawing at all,” the lawyers wrote in an email.
The board announced over the weekend that it would hold its drawing Wednesday morning. Simonds’ lawyers, however, argue that the statute doesn’t set a deadline for the board to hold its drawing — “and no parties will be prejudiced by a brief delay, provided that the process is completed before the legislative session begins on Jan. 10, 2018,” they said.
The attorneys filed motions requesting the court to “reconsider three erroneous and outcome-determinative decisions it made during the final recount hearing” in the Nov. 7 race, calling the court’s decision to allow a ballot to be challenged after recounts of all precincts had concluded “manifestly unjust.”
The attorneys asked the court to suspend its certification of the vote totals until it rules on a separate motion asking the court to declare Simonds the winner by her previous one-vote margin.
Republicans would have a 51-49 majority if Yancey is declared the winner, and the chamber would be split 50-50 if Simonds wins.
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