Virginia State Capitol building photographed from the roof of the SunTrust Bank building.
Update: The ballot controversy in Stafford County will linger for at least another day.
During its noon meeting on Monday, Stafford’s electoral board voted, 2-1, to delay a decision about certifying absentee and provisional ballots to Tuesday. The board then went into closed session.
This has been a breaking news update. Check back for details.
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The electoral tidal wave that helped Democrats flip at least 15 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will begin to crest on Monday, as local registrars and electoral boards count provisional ballots to determine final vote counts in at least three districts that will determine which party controls the chamber in January.
The count of provisional ballots could affect the outcome in the 94th District, in which Del. David E. Yancey, R-Newport News, is holding onto a 13-vote lead over Democrat Shelly Simonds. Libertarian Michael Bartley got 675 votes.
The 94th is one of three House races crucial to the GOP maintaining a 51-49 edge, all that’s left of what was a 32-seat majority before voting ended on Tuesday.
Democrats made a filing in court Thursday in Newport News to seek from the city’s electoral board a list of rejected absentee ballots and the reasons they were rejected. A hearing before a judge Thursday will be continued Monday, according to the party.
Regardless, recounts are likely in that district, as well as the 28th, in which Republican Robert M. “Bob” Thomas Jr. has an 84-vote margin over Democrat Joshua Cole in a district represented by retiring House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford; and the 40th House District, in which Del. Timothy D. Hugo, R-Fairfax, regained a 115-vote advantage over Democrat Donte Tanner after appearing to lose on Tuesday night to divide the balance of power evenly in the House.
Democrats denounced two of the three members of the Stafford County Electoral Board, Gloria Chittum, a Republican, and Marie Gozzi, a Democrat, whom Democratic leaders said are refusing to count 55 absentee ballots of military voters.
The ballots arrived in the post office box of the registrar on Tuesday — Election Day — but were not picked up until Wednesday, said Trent Armitage, executive director of the House Democratic Caucus. He said Stafford registrar Greg Riddlemoser is apparently trying to claim that those ballots are somehow not valid, which Armitage said is “absolutely ridiculous.”
No one answered the phone at the Stafford registrar’s office and an email to the office Friday was not returned. The Stafford County website said county government offices were closed in honor of Veterans Day.
“It’s disgraceful that the registrar and two members of the Electoral Board in Stafford County refuse to count military votes,” said Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Democrats said they had no way of knowing which candidates the 55 votes went for — but the ballots arrived on time and came from active-duty service personnel.
Del.-elect Lee Carter of Manassas, a Democrat who served five years in the Marines, said it was egregious that Stafford officials would not count military votes on Friday — the birthday of the Marine Corps and Veterans Day weekend.
“For Stafford County to say ‘Happy birthday, Marines. By the way, your vote doesn’t count.’ It’s completely unconscionable to me,” Carter said.
A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Chittum said, “Sir, there’s nothing to be said to you. She’s not available,” and then hung up.
Voters in Virginia who cast provisional ballots have until noon Monday to return with proper identification to verify the validity of their right to vote in those elections. The registrars then will count those ballots to complete their canvass of election results by the Tuesday deadline for doing so.
Democrats said Stafford elections officials refuse to release the names of those who voted absentee, as other jurisdictions did. Democrats want to reach out to those voters to encourage them to show up by Monday to have their vote count.
The state commissioner of elections, Edgardo Cortes, said Friday that he expects most local electoral boards to complete the voting canvasses by Monday afternoon, though some larger districts may finish the next day.
Once the local election results are complete, the State Board of Elections will meet on Monday, Nov. 20, to certify them, along with the final vote counts in the three statewide races Democrats swept for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
That’s when the fun will begin. Candidates will have 10 days after the board certifies results to petition the appropriate circuit courts for recounts, as House Republicans and Democrats already are calling on their allies to raise money to help pay for recounts.
In addition to the three closest races, recounts are possible in the 85th District, where Del. N.D. “Rocky” Holcomb has indicated he will challenge his 394-vote loss to Democrat Cheryl Turpin, and in the 68th District, where Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, already has conceded to Democrat Dawn M. Adams despite a 326-vote margin that is below the 1 percent threshold for a recount.
There are no automatic recounts in Virginia. A candidate may petition for a recount if the margin between the defeated candidate and the victor is not more than 1 percent of the total votes cast. If the margin is within 0.5 percent, the state will pay for the recount.
Democratic challenger Larry V. Barnett conceded on Thursday that he had lost to Del. Roxann L. Robinson, R-Chesterfield, in the 27th District, although Robinson prevailed by just 124 votes.
