Election Day in Virginia was almost a month ago, but final outcomes in a few contests—as well as the ultimate determination of which party will wield majority control of the state House—remain unsettled.
Last week, officials finished certifying the state’s 2017 election results, but four House of Delegates races are headed to overtime. Democrats have filed for recounts in the 28th, 40th, and 94th districts, where Republicans lead by 82, 106, and 10 votes, respectively. Republicans filed for a recount in HD-68, despite the fact that incumbent Del. Manoli Loupassi conceded on election night (!) to Democrat Dawn Adams after losing to her by 336 votes. If none of the four recounts change the outcomes of those races, Republicans will maintain a tiny 51-49 majority in the state House. However, if Democrats flip just one seat, the resulting 50-50 tie would force the GOP into a power-sharing arrangement—and if the outcome changes in favor of the Democrat in two races, Democrats would take majority control outright.
The tiny 10-vote margin in HD-94 makes that recount the most closely watched of the four, and if Democrat Shelly Simonds can pull off a win, she’d join the record number of Democratic women who surged to victory last month.
Meanwhile, though the margin in HD-40 is quite a bit larger, it’s no less worth watching. Democrat Donte Tanner believed he had won that race on election night, but the next day, a routine canvass turned up 183 untallied votes for Republican Del. Tim Hugo, flipping the lead to him (but keeping it within the .5 percent margin required for a state-funded recount). At the very least, a recount will ensure that there were no other problems with the tally.
The situation in HD-28 is the most complicated and troubling of the four.
Virginia election officials determined that at least 384 registered voters were assigned to the wrong district, and at least 147 of them cast a ballot: 86 voters who should have been assigned to the 28th were given ballots for two other districts, and at least 61 voters who should have cast ballots in HD-88 (a safely Republican seat) incorrectly voted in HD-28. (If you’re wondering how such a colossal screwup came to pass, we’ll probably never know; the rogue registrar allegedly to blame for this died in April.) While it’s impossible to know whether these errors alone misdirected enough votes to cost Democrat Joshua Cole victory against Republican Bob Thomas, Cole has filed for a recount that will hopefully provide some clarity in this debacle.
Virginia Democrats are pursuing a challenge on another front, too. They’d previously filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Thomas’ 82-vote win, but a federal judge refused to grant an injunction. However, the judge also denied the GOP's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and raised the possibility of Democrats amending their suit to request a new election. They have until Dec. 6 to do so.
Recounts in Virginia are handled by special panels made up of three state court judges, including the chief judge of the circuit court where the recount request is filed. Initial hearings will begin this week, at which point judges will likely set the times and locations for these various recounts (assuming the petitions survive any preliminary objections from the opposing sides). But with Virginia’s legislative session convening on Jan. 10, 2018, not much time remains get these elections sorted.
With majority control of the House of Delegates at stake, both parties are going all in on these recounts. After almost two decades in power and a devastating election night, Republicans are desperate to hold on to their extremely narrow lead. Democrats, on the other hand, are just as eager to break that GOP majority so they can push Medicaid expansion, increased education funding, transportation solutions, environmental protections, expanded voting rights, and many other progressive agenda items that Democratic Gov.-elect Ralph Northam would like to to sign into law.
Heading into Election Day, we scarcely imagined that Virginia’s state House could change hands, thanks to a GOP gerrymander that had allowed Republicans to construct a 66-34 majority. But a historic outburst of progressive energy shocked the Old Dominion and the nation at large, and now we have a chance to do something amazing. But Democrats in Virginia still very much need our help.
Contribute $3 today to support Democrats in these recounts and end the Republican majority in the Virginia House!