Virginia To Decide Election Tie With Drawing

Election officials in Newport News, Va., examine ballots during last month's recount for a House of Delegates race. Ben Finley/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Ben Finley/AP

In the latest chapter in an unusual and drawn-out process to decide a winner in a statehouse race, Virginia will conduct a drawing Thursday to determine the result of last month's election recount.

The Control of the Virginia House of Delegates appears likely to come down to the result of that drawing.

After a December recount, the Democratic candidate, Shelly Simonds, was initially declared the winner by just one vote – a result that appeared to wrest control of the chamber away from Republicans.

But then, after another ballot was re-examined and counted for the Republican incumbent, David Yancey, the race was declared a tie. Each candidate was determined to have 11,608 votes.

The ballot that was reexamined has marks next to both candidates. But the mark next to Simonds' bubble also has a slash through it, so judges determined that the voter did not intend to select her.

Enlarge this image

A copy of the ballot at the center of a recount election dispute, provided by the City of Newport News via The Virginian-Pilot. AP hide caption

toggle caption

As NPR's Brett Neely reported, Virginia law says that when candidates have an equal number of votes, the state election board shall "determine by lot which of the candidates shall be declared elected."

The tie-breaking drawing was initially scheduled for the week of Christmas, but was postponed after Democrats asked a court to review the process that was used to determine the winner of the disputed ballot. On Wednesday, a court denied Democrats' request to throw out that ballot and said the drawing could proceed this week as planned.

If Republican Yancey wins the drawing, rescheduled for 11 a.m. ET Thursday, the GOP would be poised to barely hang on to control of the chamber. A win for Democrat Simonds would likely mean a 50-50 split.

The loser of the drawing could choose to ask for another recount of the original ballots, though observers from both parties acknowledge it would likely be difficult to convene another recount panel in time for the Virginia General Assembly to convene on Jan. 10 in Richmond. If the session begins with the District 94 seat still in dispute, Republicans would remain in control by a 50-49 majority. Republican leaders have said under that scenario, they would move forward with electing leaders and making rules to govern the legislative session.

Another House of Delegates seat, District 28, is still in dispute: in the Fredericksburg area, a group of Democratic voters has asked a federal judge for a new election after a mix-up over district boundaries caused some voters to be assigned to the wrong districts. The Republican in that race, Joshua Cole, was certified as the winner in late November. A hearing regarding the request for a new election is scheduled for Friday in Alexandria.

Let's block ads! (Why?)