How close was THAT election?
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 7:33 pmControl over the lower House in the Virginia state legislature came down to a TIE, where one vote was allowed and caused a TIE on a RECOUNT. That tie-breaker would decide whether one party controls the House of Delegates or there is a 50-50 tie. HOW CLOSE is that?
Below are two articles, from the Washington Post and the other from USA Today (and AP).
JP
#1
Oyster shucking? A duel? No, Virginia will pull a name from a film canister to settle tied election
Virginia Politics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vi ... story.html
By Jenna Portnoy December 21, 2017
On CNN, they were holding up film canisters. On Twitter, there were suggestions of an oyster-shucking contest. Some called for a return to the duel.
Much of Virginia and the political world was fascinated Thursday by the tied vote in a key House of Delegates race that will determine which party controls the chamber and how to break it.
State law that is rarely invoked requires tied elections to be settled by “lot.”
More specifically, members of the state election board will gather in Richmond on Wednesday at 11 a.m. to randomly pick either Republican incumbent David Yancey or Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds in the tied race for the 94th House District, which encompasses part of the city of Newport News. Their names will be tucked inside two film canisters placed into a bowl, hat or other receptacle.
“This will be one of the most watched lot draws in American history,” CNN reporter Ryan Nobles said Thursday as he held up a film canister and passed it to host Wolf Blitzer, who added that there were “national implications” to the exercise.
If not national implications, certainly statewide, as the result could reshuffle the political landscape in Richmond.
Yancey emerged from Election Day with a 10-vote victory margin over Simonds. A recount on Tuesday allowed Simonds to pull ahead by a single vote. But a three-judge panel on Wednesday decided that one ballot that wasn’t tallied during the recount should count for Yancey, tying the race at 11,608 votes apiece.
#2
AP Explains: Chance, More Recounts Key in Virginia Elections
Control of Virginia's House of Delegates may hinge on pulling a name from a bowl and conducting more recounts.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... -elections
By ALAN SUDERMAN
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Control of the country's oldest legislative body could come down to which old film canister an election official pulls out of a glass bowl — or maybe an old fashioned tri-corner hat or a silver cup.
A three-judge panel in Virginia certified the 94th District in Newport News as tied Wednesday, one day after a dramatic recount appeared to give Democrat Shelly Simonds a victory over Republican Del. David Yancey by a single vote. Democrats decried the decision and indicated they may file a legal challenge.
At stake could be control of the Virginia House.
HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?
In Virginia, where the state House has been around since the 1619 founding of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown, something similar has happened at least once. In 1971, Republican candidate William H. Moss Sr. appeared to have lost the election for a Fairfax seat. He demanded a recount, which ended in a tie, and then won when his name was drawn at random, according to news reports from the time.
"The bowl used, in somewhat typical Virginian style, is a silver loving cup," reported The Washington Post.
Below are two articles, from the Washington Post and the other from USA Today (and AP).
JP
#1
Oyster shucking? A duel? No, Virginia will pull a name from a film canister to settle tied election
Virginia Politics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vi ... story.html
By Jenna Portnoy December 21, 2017
On CNN, they were holding up film canisters. On Twitter, there were suggestions of an oyster-shucking contest. Some called for a return to the duel.
Much of Virginia and the political world was fascinated Thursday by the tied vote in a key House of Delegates race that will determine which party controls the chamber and how to break it.
State law that is rarely invoked requires tied elections to be settled by “lot.”
More specifically, members of the state election board will gather in Richmond on Wednesday at 11 a.m. to randomly pick either Republican incumbent David Yancey or Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds in the tied race for the 94th House District, which encompasses part of the city of Newport News. Their names will be tucked inside two film canisters placed into a bowl, hat or other receptacle.
“This will be one of the most watched lot draws in American history,” CNN reporter Ryan Nobles said Thursday as he held up a film canister and passed it to host Wolf Blitzer, who added that there were “national implications” to the exercise.
If not national implications, certainly statewide, as the result could reshuffle the political landscape in Richmond.
Yancey emerged from Election Day with a 10-vote victory margin over Simonds. A recount on Tuesday allowed Simonds to pull ahead by a single vote. But a three-judge panel on Wednesday decided that one ballot that wasn’t tallied during the recount should count for Yancey, tying the race at 11,608 votes apiece.
#2
AP Explains: Chance, More Recounts Key in Virginia Elections
Control of Virginia's House of Delegates may hinge on pulling a name from a bowl and conducting more recounts.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... -elections
By ALAN SUDERMAN
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Control of the country's oldest legislative body could come down to which old film canister an election official pulls out of a glass bowl — or maybe an old fashioned tri-corner hat or a silver cup.
A three-judge panel in Virginia certified the 94th District in Newport News as tied Wednesday, one day after a dramatic recount appeared to give Democrat Shelly Simonds a victory over Republican Del. David Yancey by a single vote. Democrats decried the decision and indicated they may file a legal challenge.
At stake could be control of the Virginia House.
HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?
In Virginia, where the state House has been around since the 1619 founding of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown, something similar has happened at least once. In 1971, Republican candidate William H. Moss Sr. appeared to have lost the election for a Fairfax seat. He demanded a recount, which ended in a tie, and then won when his name was drawn at random, according to news reports from the time.
"The bowl used, in somewhat typical Virginian style, is a silver loving cup," reported The Washington Post.