A recount court for the 94th district has denied Democrat Shelly Simonds’ request to review a disputed ballot in her race against incumbent David Yancey. That race is tied and will remained tied until tomorrow. From WTOP.com:
“The right of a citizen to cast a free vote has been secured to us by the blood of patriots shed from Lexington and Concord to Selma, Alabama,” the judges wrote in the ruling denying Simonds’ motion. “The manifest injustice against which we must always guard is the chance that a single vote may not be counted. It matters not the importance of the disposition of a ballot in a given election; it matters the dignity of the citizen, the integrity of the electoral process, and the destiny of our constitutional republic.”
The court’s ruling clears the way for the Virginia Electoral Board to draw a name from a bowl on Thursday and declare the winner.
But wait, there’s more. If Democrat Simonds wins the seat incumbent Republican incumbent Yancey can immediately ask for a recount. It’s not likely the recount will be completed when the House of Delegates convenes on January 10th. That means Republicans will have a one vote margin, 50-49, and be able to vote in their leadership team with Kirk Cox as Speaker of the House and Todd Gilbert as Majority Leader. All committee assignments are decided by the Speaker so Republicans will remain in control of the House of Delegates. Once a Speaker has been chosen it takes two-thirds of the House to remove him. That won’t happen. Democrats are going to have to tolerate Kirk Cox as the Speaker regardless. If Yancey’s name is drawn on Thursday the Republicans will still be in control on the opening day of the session, 51-49.
Tune in tomorrow when we will report the outcome of the drawing for the winner in the 94th district.
