Virginia court tosses out one-vote victory that briefly ended GOP majority in House

Washington Post ^ | 20 Dec 17 | Jim Morrison and Fenit Nirappil

[Drew68]

A three- judge panel declined to certify the recount of a key House race today, saying that a questionable ballot should be counted in favor of the Republican and tying a race that Democrats had thought they had won by a single vote.

“The court declares there is no winner in this election,” said Circuit Court Judge Bryant L. Sugg, after the judges deliberated for more than two hours.

The court’s decision leaves the race for the 94th District tied at 11,608 votes for each Del. David Yancey, the Republican incumbent, and Shelly Simonds, his Democratic challenger.

And it leaves the balance of power in the state legislature at 49-51, in favor of Republicans - at least for now.

In the case of a tie in a House race, state law says the winner is chosen by lot – essentially, a coin toss, according to Virginia state law.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Not to dispair!

A shoebox of Dem votes will be found!
.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Any time a Dem wins anything, fraud should be suspected!
.

[Valpal1]

If it’s in the state constitution, it’s constitutional.

200 years ago, running a second election would have been an extreme hardship and expense on everyone, voters and candidates. So it’s unsurprising that this method of tie-breaking was written in. Saves all kinds of time and hassle.