Virginia

State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R) will concede the race for Virginia attorney general to Democrat Mark R. Herring on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the decision. Obenshain’s announcement will put an end to a drawn-out contest that, on election night, was the closest statewide election in history. Obenshain campaign spokesman Paul Logan did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Wednesday. Herring had significantly widened his slim lead over Obenshain in a statewide recount that began Monday and was scheduled to finish on Wednesday. The race to succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) had turned into a protracted nail-biter not only to determine who serves as Virginia’s top law-enforcement official but also to determine control of the evenly split state Senate. Herring and Obenshain are both state senators, and a win by either would have prompted a special election. And because Herring’s Loudoun County district is seen as very competitive, his win could cause Democrats to lose power in the evenly divided Senate. The GOP has a wide margin in the House.

Virginia: Herring ahead by 866 votes on day two of AG race recount | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Democrat Mark R. Herring continued to widen his lead over Republican Mark D. Obenshain on the second day of the statewide recount in the race for attorney general. As ballots were being counted Tuesday, Herring was 866 votes ahead of Obenshain by 7 p.m., said Herring’s legal counsel Marc Elias. “We continue to gain margin at a steady pace, and we expect to continue to do so through the rest of the recount,” Elias told reporters Tuesday. “We become more confident as this recount progresses.” Less than 120 ballots had been challenged by partisan election officials to be sent to the Richmond Circuit Court, where a three-judge panel will begin reviewing them Thursday. Of 133 localities statewide, 98 had finished their tallies by 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Virginia: Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general’s race to Herring | The Washington Post

State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R) conceded the race for Virginia attorney general to Democrat Mark R. Herring on Wednesday, bringing the election to a belated end and giving Democrats a sweep of statewide offices — but throwing control of the state Senate into question. The move allowed Herring to claim victory for the third time since Nov. 5 in a contest that on election night was the closest statewide race in Virginia history. It also spared a three-judge panel in Richmond from having to continue slogging through more than 100 ballots that one side or the other had challenged. And for the first time since Election Day, speculation in Virginia political circles shifted from who would succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) to how differently the new attorney general would lead. Herring spent much of the campaign promising not to run the state’s law firm like Cuccinelli, a social conservative who waged high-profile battles against a climate scientist, “Obamacare” and universities with policies that protect gay people from discrimination.

Virginia: Meet the man behind the voting machines | Richmond Times-Dispatch

As attorneys and judges in Richmond carved out the ground rules for the statewide recount in the attorney general race last week, Spooner Hull logged more than 2,000 miles on Virginia roads in five days to make sure that the voting equipment will be ready to process tens of thousands of ballots in the coming days. Hull, 67, is a state-certified vendor who sells and services voting machines in 40 localities statewide. He has worked for decades in the background, doing his part to protect the integrity of the electoral system and allow democracy to run its course, unhindered by technical errors that could cause dramatic shifts in Virginia’s political landscape. “Here in Virginia, we have a very good election system, and it works,” said Hull, who bought his company, Atlantic Election Services Inc., from his father 33 years ago. Since then, he has serviced countless local elections and every presidential and state election — including two previous statewide recounts. His years in the business have strengthened his faith in the state’s electoral system. “I can assure you when any state in this country undertakes a rewrite of their election law, they will come to Virginia and look at our code and how we do things,” Hull said.

Virginia: Herring’s lead keeps growing on second day of recount in Virginia attorney general race | The Washington Post

December 18, 2013

Democrat Mark R. Herring continued to widen his slim lead over Republican Mark D. Obenshain in the race for Virginia attorney general Tuesday as the recount of the historically close contest spread statewide. Herring’s lead grew to more than 810 votes, with 73 percent of ballots across the state recounted, according to Herring’s campaign. Fewer than 120 ballots had been “challenged,” the campaign said, meaning recount officials could not agree on how they should be counted and will forward them to a special recount court in Richmond that will begin its work Wednesday. The Democrat’s lead was between 811 and 866, depending on how many of the challenged ballots are ultimately counted, Herring attorney Marc Elias said in a conference call with reporters. Herring’s lead is the larger number if all of the challenges are overturned, the smaller one if they are all upheld.

Virginia: On first day of Attorney General race recount, Herring increases lead over Obenshain | Richmond Times-Dispatch

December 17, 2013

On the first day of the recount in the state’s tight race for attorney general, Democrat Mark R. Herring, the certified winner of the Nov. 5 election, had widened his lead over Republican Mark D. Obenshain to 305 votes, up from 165. “We saw significant growth in the margin of the Herring victory today; frankly, greater than we initially anticipated,” Herring’s legal counsel Marc Elias said Tuesday evening. “We expect to maintain or increase this margin as the recount expands to additional jurisdictions tomorrow.” Fairfax County and the cities of Alexandria and Chesapeake a head start on the attorney general election recount. See pictures from the recount. Fairfax County and the cities of Alexandria and Chesapeake got a head start Monday on the recount, with the state’s remaining localities following today. In Fairfax, Virginia’s largest county, recount officers are reviewing a total of 300,000 optical scan paper ballots. All ballots rejected by the tabulators — write-ins, undervotes and overvotes, in many cases — will be reviewed and counted by hand.

Virginia: Obenshain raises ballot security issue | Washington Times

December 17, 2013

Virginia’s largest voting jurisdiction is set to begin a recount Monday for the tightest race in state history, even as one candidate raises concerns about the conduct of the election. Fairfax County is scheduled to start recounting more than 300,000 ballots cast in the state attorney general’s race between Republican Mark D. Obenshain and Mark R. Herring, a Democrat who leads his opponent by a mere 165 votes out of more than 2.2 million ballots cast last month. In a motion filed last week in Richmond Circuit Court, attorneys for Mr. Obenshain criticized Fairfax elections officials for not only missing a deadline for delivering ballots, but because “Fairfax election officials grossly departed from the security procedures” required by law. Court documents state that Fairfax officials did not transport some ballots to the county’s circuit court clerk by the day after the election canvas that ended Nov. 12, and that those ballots “remained unprotected by the legally-required security measures for nearly a month after the election.”

Virginia: Attorney General race recount starts Monday | Associated Press

December 15, 2013

The most extensive recount in modern Virginia political history will involve tens of thousands of people statewide to determine the state’s next attorney general. The recount begins Monday in Fairfax County and the cities of Alexandria and Chesapeake before moving to every jurisdiction in the state on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those three localities get a head start because of the extensive hand counting of ballots entailed in their recount or simply the sheer number of ballots and machines to be checked, which is the case in Fairfax County. A three-judge recount court will convene on Thursday in Richmond to rule on challenged ballots that emerge from the re-tabulation. Democrat Mark Herring should know by Friday if his 165-vote edge holds or if Republican Mark Obenshain has picked up enough votes to surpass his fellow state senator —or closed it sufficiently to take it one step further. Obenshain’s camp has signaled the recount might not be the candidate’s last gasp. They could play a rare, little-used card, taking the race to the General Assembly as a contested election and letting the Republican-majority body decide the race or call for a new election.

Virginia: Election Board Reviews Vote Rejected in November | WHSV

December 13, 2013

The Harrisonburg Electoral Board held an emergency meeting Thursday after a vote came into question. For the first time in three years, the electoral board pulled an absentee ballot to verify a decision made by election officers. It is concerning because of the recount that is underway in the Attorney General’s race. “One of our voters was notified that his vote was not opened and counted and he would like to know why,” said Penny Imeson, who is the secretary of the Harrisonburg Electoral Board.

Virginia: Republican campaign for attorney general raises new questions about Fairfax ballots | The Washington Post

Republican Mark D. Obenshain’s campaign for attorney general raised new questions Wednesday about how Fairfax County ballots were handled while also dismissing the idea that he has already decided to ask the General Assembly to step into the race. Earlier this week, Obenshain’s attorney raised the possibility that after next week’s recount, the closest statewide election in Virginia history might wind up before the legislature, which has the power to decide elections or call a new one under a little-known law. Va. Republicans raise new questions about Fairfax ballots Contesting the election through the General Assembly would be an extraordinary step, one that political observers said has never been taken in a statewide race, at least not in modern Virginia history.

Virginia: Machines for 11th District vote to cost Roanoke $36,000 | Roanoke Times

Roanoke voter precincts will have electronic voting machines for the Jan. 7 special House of Delegates election – but at an unexpected cost of $36,000. The impending recount in the Virginia Attorney General election required all voting machines to be locked down, including those in Roanoke. Though the recount will take place next week, the machines must remain in lock down for a period in case the one of the candidates chooses to contest the integrity of the results after the election. That means the city won’t have its own machines available for the special election for the 11th District House of Delegates seat vacated by Democrat Onzlee Ware, who resigned citing concerns about his mother’s health. Voter Registrar Andrew Cochran had to go in search of 95 machines to borrow or rent for the day, and eventually found them at a North Carolina vendor called Printelect, with which the city has done business before. “They moved at lightning speed, and I appreciate that,” Cochran said.

Virginia: Registrars prepare for recount in attorney general’s race | News & Advance

The Lynchburg region cast just over 3 percent of the votes that will be counted — again — next week to determine who will be Virginia’s next attorney general. Each of the localities gave Republican Mark Obenshain a healthy majority over Democrat Mark Herring, ranging from 53 percent of votes cast in Lynchburg to 75 percent in Bedford and Campbell counties. Obenshain, who lost by 165 votes out of 2.2 million cast in the Nov. 5 election, asked for a recount. It will be conducted Monday and Tuesday in each city and county, at local-government expense. Voter registrars said the recount will take roughly half a day in the four counties surrounding Lynchburg, because they use touch-screen voting machines that recorded vote totals on printed tapes. Those tapes can be tabulated again in just a few hours, according to the registrars in Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties. But in the Hill City, where two-thirds of the voters chose to use paper ballots, election officials are preparing for an all-day job requiring them to run 13,000 paper ballots through a scanning machine again. A few hundred ballots, mostly absentee ballots sent by mail, will be counted by hand.

Virginia: McDonnell says talk of contest in AG race may be premature | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Tuesday called speculation about a General Assembly contest in the attorney general race before the conclusion of the pending recount “premature,” adding that he has yet to see evidence that would call for resolving the race in the legislature. “To get to that level where you essentially have the legislature make a decision as to who the winner is, there would have to be evidence that the credibility of the election was called into question in some way that created a lack of confidence among the citizens,” McDonnell said in a radio interview with WNIS Norfolk. “I think we are a long way away from that.” Republican Mark D. Obenshain initiated the recount in what is considered the closest race in modern Virginia history after a final statewide tally had him trailing Democrat Mark R. Herring by just 165 votes — a margin of 0.007 percent of 2.2 million votes cast. Obenshain has not said whether he is considering contesting the election in the General Assembly if the recount does not sway the result in his favor, but his legal team has dropped several hints. And on Monday, Obenshain’s attorney William H. Hurd for the first time openly raised this issue before the recount court in Richmond.

Virginia: Attorney General Recount Rules Established | WVTF

December 11, 2013

A three-judge panel has set the rules for next week’s statewide recount of the Attorney General’s election between Democrat Mark Herring and Republican Mark Obenshain. With a historically narrow 165-vote margin separating the two men, the details were strategically important to the candidates’ lawyers-who spent hours on Monday arguing their positions at a Richmond hearing. The recount will include examination of thousands of undervoted ballots-to determine if no votes were cast for that office or if the machines did not read them the first time. The judges ordered Alexandria and Chesapeake to begin one day early since they must hand-count thousands of paper ballots. They also gave the campaigns broad access to pollbooks, as requested by Obenshain attorney William Hurd. “There’re some other materials, too, that the court said we could obtain involving absentee ballots, provisional ballots, incidents that occurred on Election Day that are recorded. It’s a big victory. It means we don’t have to sit there and go through the documents in the office of the clerk, but the copies will be made and made available to us.”

Virginia: Lawyer hints that Obenshain hasn’t ruled out bringing Virginia AG race before legislature | The Washington Post

December 11, 2013

An attorney for state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain hinted in court Monday that the Republican would consider using an obscure law to throw the outcome of the attorney general’s race into the hands of the General Assembly. The lawyer made the statement as legal teams for Obenshain and Democrat Mark R. Herring jockeyed for advantage in advance of next week’s statewide recount. Even floating the idea of contesting the race through the legislature is an act of political daring. Until now, Republican leaders, including Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), have indicated that they thought a challenge would be inappropriate unless evidence of major voting irregularities emerged.

Virginia: Mark Obenshain lawyer requests poll book access | Richmond Times-Dispatch

The lawyer representing Republican Mark D. Obenshain in the pending statewide recount in the attorney general race on Monday for the first time openly raised the issue of contesting the election in the General Assembly if the tally does not sway the result in the Republican’s favor. During a hearing in Richmond, William H. Hurd, head of Obenshain’s legal team, told the three judges who will oversee the recount that it is “critically important” for his team to get full access to data from electronic poll books because Dec. 23 marks the deadline to challenge the election results. The court previously set Dec. 17-18 for the statewide recount, giving Fairfax County a one-day head start. The three-judge panel will review any challenged ballots on Dec. 19, leaving a candidate only three days to announce a contest – a rarely used provision in state law. Obenshain requested the recount in what is regarded as the closest race in modern Virginia history after his opponent, Democrat Mark R. Herring, maintained a lead of just 165 votes of more than 2.2 million votes cast – that’s a margin of just 0.007 percent.

Virginia: Obenshain asks court to hold off counting some ballots | Daily Press

State Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, is asking the special court overseeing the recount of the attorney general’s race to hold off counting a large number of ballots from Fairfax County because measures to keep them secure after the election were not followed. Obenshain is seeking a recount of the election he lost to Democrat Mark Herring by 165 votes out of more than 2.2 million cast. The court did not make a decision on the request but took it under advisement, said William Hurd, Obenshain’s lead lawyer. His request involves part of some 115 boxes of election material out of the 869 now in the custody of the clerk of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. He asked the court to set those ballots aside and not recount them for now until the court decides whether the ballots were secure. “It was a gross violation of security,” Hurd said. “Now we’ve got to figure out what did happen and whether these were the same ballots that were cast on Election Day,” he said. In the motion, Obenshain’s lawyers said that counted and blank ballots “remained unprotected by the legally required security measures for nearly a month after the election.”

Virginia: State prepares for new voter photo ID law | Richmond Times-Dispatch

With implementation of Virginia’s new voter ID law seven months away, state election officials are scrambling to affordably create a photo ID card that will be provided to voters for free. They also are gearing up to educate the public about the law that will take effect July 1. The state is organizing a marketing campaign and vetting vendors charged with the creation of a voter identification card that will meet requirements under the new law, according to a plan and timeline developed by the State Board of Elections. The new ID will be available in July for voters who do not have other acceptable forms of identification. Other acceptable forms of photo ID include a Virginia driver’s license, a U.S. passport or any other photo ID issued by the United States, Virginia or one of its political subdivisions, a student ID issued by any institute of higher learning in Virginia or any employee identification card. Voters who need the new ID card can apply for the card with their local registrars in a process similar to obtaining a driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Virginia: Chesapeake must recount 61,000 ballots by hand | Virginian Pilot

In the upcoming recount of Virginia’s attorney general election results, Chesapeake’s 61,000 paper ballots must be tallied manually, the state Board of Elections has told city officials. The reason, according to Chesapeake General Registar William “Al” Spradlin, is that the city’s optical scanning equipment cannot segregate ballots that were undervoted – didn’t vote in all races – or overvoted – voted for too many candidates. Instructions from a three-judge panel overseeing the recount indicated those ballots must be singled out for examination, Spradlin said. Democrat Mark Herring was certified with a victory of 165 votes out of 2.2 million cast in the Nov. 5 election, close enough for his opponent, Republican Mark Obenshain, to request the recount.

Virginia: Attorney general vote recount, some by hand, to get started Dec. 16 | Washington Times

December 5, 2013

A recount of the votes in the Virginia attorney general’s race will begin Dec. 16, but a number of jurisdictions, including Alexandria, are facing hand recounts thanks to voting machines considered outdated by the state’s electoral board. Only 165 votes of more than 2.2 million cast separate Democrat Mark R. Herring and Republican Mark D. Obenshain — a 0.007 percent difference that amounts to the closest finish to a race in Virginia history. A three-judge recount court in Richmond on Wednesday announced the process would begin Dec. 17 and 18 for a majority of the state’s voting districts, though Fairfax County, the state’s largest district, was given the go-ahead to begin its recount a day earlier, on Dec. 16. Donald Palmer, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, said officials would prefer the ballots be tabulated by optical scanners. In some cases, though, jurisdictions use machines that can’t isolate just one of the races that appeared on the ballot — in this case, the attorney general’s race.

Virginia: Mark Herring, Mark Obenshain recount to start Dec. 16 | Associated Press

December 5, 2013

Democrat Mark Herring’s 165-vote win over Republican Mark Obenshain in the close race for attorney general is headed to a recount Dec. 17 and 18, with Fairfax County getting a one-day head start. Richmond Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals scheduled the recount at a hearing Wednesday in which attorneys for both candidates debated the ground rules for what is expected to be the state’s most extensive recount ever in the closest statewide race in modern Virginia political history. Snukals also scheduled a tentative Dec. 19 date for a recount court to rule on disputed votes in the recount. Snukals agreed to allow Fairfax County to begin its recount Dec. 16, with the remaining localities joining in the following two days. Fairfax County is the state’s most populous and uses a variety of voting machines that could extend its recount beyond two days. Donald Palmer, secretary of the State Board of Elections, attended the nearly four-hour hearing to assist Snukals and attorneys for Obenshain and Herring navigate election law and various schedules to ensure local elections officials can conduct the recount. Asked outside court whether he was confident in an accurate recount, Palmer said, “Absolutely.”

Virginia: Attorney general recount locks up voting machines | Roanoke Times

Every state voting machine used in the Nov. 5 election is in lockdown mode — including those the Roanoke Voter Registration office would like to use in January’s special election. The Roanoke Voter Registration Office is putting on a special election Jan. 7 but doesn’t have any machines to record the vote — at least at the moment. Thanks to the impending recount in the squeaker of an election for Virginia attorney general, every voting machine in the state used in the Nov. 5 election is in lockdown mode to protect the results. Republican Mark Obenshain requested the recount after the state board of elections certified a 165-vote victory for Democrat Mark Herring.

Virginia: Some voting equipment doesn’t meet requirements | The Washington Post

Virginia elections officials say some voting equipment used in the November election doesn’t meet state requirements. State Board of Elections chairman Charles E. Judd said that there should be uniformity in the election process. “This vast diversity of equipment in the state is problematic,” Judd said. “We should have two kinds of equipment and not 10 or 12 kinds around the state. We should have some uniformity so it applies to the code and it makes it more efficient.” Judd and other board members discussed the issue Monday during a meeting, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Virginia: 3 judges named for Attorney General recount court | The Washington Post

With a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday, a three-judge panel has been named to oversee the recount for Virginia attorney general. Republican Mark Obenshain is seeking a recount of the Nov. 5 general election in his pitched race with Democrat Mark Herring, who leads him by 165 votes. Obenshain’s office says besides the previously designated Richmond Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia has named two other jurists to the so-called recount court.

Virginia: Elections officials say some voting equipment is outdated | Richmond Times-Dispatch