Virginia legislative race tied, court rules
Uncounted ballot at issue day after Democrat claimed 1-vote win in recount
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A court on Wednesday declared a tie in a Virginia legislative election that a day earlier appeared to have gone to a Democrat by a single vote, the latest twist in a contest likely to decide control of the state House.
A three-judge panel certified the 94th District in Newport News as tied at 11,608 to 11,608 on Wednesday, a day after a recount appeared to give Democrat Shelly Simonds the victory over Delegate David Yancey.
Citing state election law, Virginia Board of Elections Chairman James Alcorn said the board would have to pick a winner at random, likely picking a name from a bowl.
In a statement, the Virginia House Democratic Caucus called the court’s decision “wrong” and said, “We are currently assessing all legal options before us as we fight for a just result.”
Reached by phone, Yancey said he was “just grateful that every vote was counted.” The Republican said he’s preparing legislation for the next session.
Simonds declined to comment through her husband, Paul Danehy, who answered her phone. She was more outspoken Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. She appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show and joked about being called “Landslide Shelly.”
Yancey’s attorneys successfully argued Wednesday that an uncounted ballot should have been included in his total. They cited concerns raised by a GOP election official who participated in Tuesday’s recount.
The official wrote in a letter submitted to the court that he was “confused” about election board guidelines when he agreed to leave the vote uncounted.
On the ballot in question, the voter had picked Republican candidates in statewide races. For the 94th District, the voter filled in the bubble for Yancey and the bubble for Simonds.
But the voter also drew a single slash through the bubble for Simonds.
Ezra Reese, an attorney for Simonds, argued that under the guidelines, the ballot should remain uncounted because it contained more than one type of extra marking.
Trevor Stanley, a lawyer for Yancey, argued that the slash in Simonds’ bubble clearly meant that the voter was picking Yancey.
The judges ruled in Yancey’s favor after two hours of deliberation. They also denied a request by Simonds’ attorneys to review a ballot from another precinct.
Simonds, a school board member, had initially appeared to lose November’s election by 10 votes.
The election’s outcome likely will decide partisan control of the House of Delegates.
If Yancey wins, Republicans will hold on to power by one seat, 51-49.
If Simonds wins, a rare power-sharing agreement would have to be brokered between Democrats and Republicans. But if no agreement can be reached, prolonged chaos could ensue.
Democrats rode a tidal wave powered by unhappiness with GOP President Donald Trump in last month’s Virginia elections to erase Republicans’ 66-34 advantage.
Tuesday’s recount was one of four scheduled for House races with extremely tight margins. The 94th District had by far the slimmest vote difference and the biggest chance of flipping.
Last week, Republican Delegate Tim Hugo survived a recount in Fairfax County.
Meanwhile, the Democratic challenger leads by 336 votes in the 68th House District in and around Richmond, where ballot counting began Wednesday.
Ballots will be recounted today in the Fredericksburg area’s 28th District. The Republican candidate there leads by 82 votes. But Democrats already have asked a judge to call for a new election after at least 147 ballots were found to be assigned to the wrong districts.