Virginia: Democrats Roll Out Voting Rights Agenda | Associated Press

Democratic legislators are pushing for a package of bills to make it easier for Virginians to vote, including proposals to let people register on Election Day and to cast an absentee ballot for any reason. Del. Debra Rodman of Henrico County has introduced a bill to would repeal the deadline for registering to vote before an election. Instead, eligible voters could register at any time, including the day of the election. “I am critically proud for this opportunity, all of these opportunities, that will allow Virginians true access to the ballot,” Rodman said. “Knowledge and access are imperative to the evolution of our democracy.”

Virginia: Proposals seek to end gerrymandering in Virginia | Capital News Service

An assortment of bills to revise standards for drawing Virginia’s electoral districts could be the beginning of the end for gerrymandering in the commonwealth, according to redistricting reform proponents. Gerrymandering, the practice of politicians redrawing electoral districts to gain an advantage, has drawn attention and disdain in recent years. North Carolina’s congressional map was declared unconstitutional last week by a panel of federal judges, who ruled legislators had drawn it with “invidious partisan intent.” House Bill 276, proposed by Democratic Del. Sam Rasoul of Roanoke, would create a Virginia Redistricting Commission. The commission would determine the criteria for remedial redistricting plans if a court declares any congressional or legislative district unlawful. Under the current system, the legislators themselves determine the criteria for redrawing these lines.

Virginia: Thousands of Virginians may have voted in the wrong state House districts | Washington Post

Thousands of Virginia voters may be registered in the wrong state House district, raising the possibility of election disputes. In a statewide analysis, The Washington Post found addresses of about 6,000 registered voters that appear to lie outside a map of the assigned House district. If their turnout tracked the state average, more than 2,800 mistaken state House votes could have been cast in November. Six of the 100 delegate races were decided by fewer than 500 votes. One was decided by a coin flip. One controversy stemming from such errors is now playing out in the 28th House District near Fredericksburg. Democrats are seeking a new electionbecause 147 people voted in the wrong race, while Republican Bob Thomas won by just 73 votes. (They can’t just throw out the individual bad ballots since they can’t be identified). A state Department of Elections investigation there, launched following voter complaints, found the 147 affected voters got the wrong ballot because official voter registration records placed them in the wrong district.

Virginia: How Reversing Felony Disenfranchisement is Transforming Virginia | The Atlantic

Richmond is hot in the summer. August days in Virginia’s capital feature the kind of heat that shimmers in waves from the pavement and even in the evenings plasters suit shirts to skin like wet towels. On one such evening last year, that heat did a little extra sticking, even as a group of people gathered packed in a tiny room behind the governor’s mansion. In the middle of the group, Governor Terry McAuliffe stood, relishing the attention despite the heat. He’d shown his visitors through the traditional attractions of his home, like the room where the Marquis de Lafayette reportedly lodged during his 1820s tour of the United States. But he reserved the most gusto for the pieces of the mansion and its history that many previous inhabitants had preferred to skip: a thin staircase leading to the warrens and passageways where house slaves were expected to move and work unseen, and the handiworks of generations of enslaved people who’d been shuffled in and out of the house like furniture. The visit to the slave quarters was his pièce de résistance, a heavy dose of symbolism for a program whose beneficiaries he’d invited to dine with him.

Virginia: Voters file appeal to block Republican from taking office in House race tainted by ballot mix-up | The Washington Post

Four Democratic voters in Virginia are appealing a court decision that cleared the way for Republicans to take control of the state House of Delegates. At issue is whether errors that led some voters in an extremely close Northern Virginia House race to be given the wrong ballots were so significant that Republican Robert Thomas, the victor, should not be seated when the General Assembly convenes on Wednesday. Late Friday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia decided they were not. The four voters have appealed Ellis’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and filed an emergency motion there to stop Thomas from being seated.

Virginia: Judge Rejects Request for New Vote in Virginia House Race | Associated Press

A federal judge on Friday rejected a request for a new election that might have forced a 50-50 split in Virginia’s House of Delegates, calling ballot mistakes cited by Democrats a “garden-variety” problem that doesn’t merit federal intervention. Democrats had hoped a new election in the 28th District would provide an opportunity for an even split in the chamber, which is now on track to be controlled by a 51-49 GOP majority. Democrats cited state election officials who said 147 voters received the wrong ballot before Republican Bob Thomas beat Democrat Joshua Cole by only 73 votes. It is the second defeat in as many days for Democrats. On Thursday, election officials broke a tie vote in another House district by drawing names from a bowl, and picking the Republican.

Virginia: Republican Wins Election After His Name Is Drawn From a Bowl | Bloomberg

By luck of the draw, incumbent Republican David Yancey won a Virginia state House of Delegates race so close that its outcome was determined Thursday when an elections official pulled his name out of a ceramic bowl. The drawing of lots happened after the race between Yancey and Democratic challenger Shelley Simonds ended in tie. The win allows Republicans to maintain a slim majority in the House, though a final tally is still uncertain because Simonds could ask for another recount. Adding another wrinkle: Another close legislative race is in doubt because it’s locked in a court battle. The drawing drew a large, if lopsided, crowd to the Virginia elections board meeting. Many of the people packed into the room were either reporters or Simonds’ supporters. Yancey did not attend but did have a few GOP staffers there to watch.

Virginia: Citing registration concerns, attorney warns of false voter fraud prosecutions | WTOP

A Virginia commonwealth’s attorney has warned prosecutors statewide Wednesday against prosecuting certain voter registration fraud cases, due to concerns raised by Virginia registrars. In an email obtained by WTOP through a Freedom of Information Act request, Chuck Slemp, commonwealth’s attorney for Wise County and the City of Norton, said he has dropped prosecutions in “several cases” where it initially appeared that felons were trying to register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles, because he cannot be completely sure any data in the system is accurate. “I believe that all Commonwealth’s Attorneys should be made aware of this issue because there may be a considerable risk of unfair prosecution of certain individuals statewide,” the email forwarded on Slemp’s behalf said.

Virginia: Tiebreaker Drawing Is Back On. But It May Not Settle House Race. | The New York Times

Virginia’s on-again, off-again drawing to break a tie in a state House race is back on, with the winner’s name to be ceremoniously plucked from a bowl on Thursday in Richmond. But the drawing, the latest chapter in an election melodrama that has drawn wide attention, may fail to bring finality, since the loser can request a recount — which would be the second recount of the original vote. At 11 a.m. in a building named for Patrick Henry, adjacent to the State Capitol, Virginia’s Board of Elections plans to chose the winner of House District 94 “by lot,’’ as state law specifies. The proceedings will be live-streamed. The only thing that might intervene is a winter storm headed for the Mid-Atlantic states, James Alcorn, the chairman of the elections board, said on Twitter.

Virginia: Recount court denies Democrat’s request, leaving critical House race a tie | The Washington Post

The winner of a pivotal Virginia legislative race will be decided by lottery Thursday, one day after a recount court rejected a request to toss out a disputed ballot that brought the contest to a tie. In a race full of unexpected twists, the State Board of Elections is set to break the tie by randomly selecting the name of either Republican incumbent David E. Yancey or Democrat Shelly Simonds from a stoneware bowl fashioned by a Virginia artist. The spectacle, expected to be watched via live stream around the country, could break the GOP’s 18-year hold on the House of Delegates. But even if Simonds wins the drawing — splitting the 100-member chamber right down the middle — odds are the GOP will retain control on day one of the 2018 General Assembly session, when crucial votes for speaker and rules take place.

Virginia: Fairfax County registrar to deny voter registrations over concerns with Virginia system | WTOP

Thousands of people who recently moved to Fairfax County from other parts of Virginia are set to receive notice in the next week or so that their voter registration requests have been denied. This move follows concerns about the way a state Department of Elections system handles requests submitted through the Department of Motor Vehicles, the county’s general registrar said. To start with, that means about 5,000 letters to people who submitted some of the most recent address updates. The county’s general registrar is accepting similar voter registration updates through the Department of Elections website.

Virginia: Department of Elections knew of issues with voting in wrong House districts before 2017 election | WTOP

Leaders of Virginia’s Department of Elections, House Speaker Bill Howell and Fredericksburg’s Electoral Board knew there were problems with voters assigned to the wrong House districts in the Fredericksburg area since at least early 2015, documents and interviews show. That is more than two years before the Nov. 7 election to replace Howell that is now mired in a federal lawsuit that could help decide which party controls the Virginia House of Delegates. “There were some issues raised in 2015 that we believed to have been resolved, and apparently, there were additional issues that were … still impacting voters,” Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes said in an interview.

Virginia: In race critical to House control, GOP urges judges to stick by disputed ballot ruling | The Washington Post

Republicans on Friday asked a three-judge panel in Virginia to stick by its decision to count a disputed ballot in a squeaker legislative race, a ruling that threw the contest — and control of the House of Delegates — into limbo. House Republicans were responding to a motion Democrats had filed Wednesday, asking a recount court to reverse itself and declare Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds the winner over Del. David E. Yancey (Newport News) by a margin of one vote. A win by Simonds would split the 100-seat House down the middle, forcing a rare power-sharing arrangement on a chamber that Republicans have controlled for 17 years.

Virginia: Voting Mess Was Never Supposed to Happen After Bush v. Gore | The New York Times

It was the electoral nightmare Virginia never wanted to experience: being host to a high-profile mess like the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida, with officials obsessing over questionable ballots as political power hangs in the balance. So 17 years ago, the state began writing a guidebook on how to handle such situations. The latest edition includes pictographs of ballots marked in unconventional ways — names crossed out, several boxes checked, “My guy” scrawled over a candidate’s name. Despite the best intentions to avoid a Florida-style snafu, that is where Virginia now finds itself, with lawyers fighting over how to interpret one questionable ballot. And at stake is possible control of the Legislature.

Virginia: Officials postpone lottery drawing to decide tied statehouse election | Reuters

A lottery drawing to settle a tied Virginia legislative race that could shift the statehouse balance of power has been indefinitely postponed, state election officials said on Tuesday, after the Democratic candidate mounted a legal fight. The decision to put off the high-stakes lotto, originally scheduled for Wednesday, marks the latest twist in a dramatic election recount that at one point showed Democrat Shelly Simonds beating Republican incumbent David Yancey by a single vote. A victory by Simonds would shift Republicans’ slim control of the 100-member House of Delegates to an even 50-50 split with the Democrats, forcing the two parties into a rare power-sharing arrangement.

Virginia: Tied Race That Was Headed for Name-Drawing Gets Another Twist | The New York Times

A race that would tip control of Virginia’s House of Delegates, whose constant and nearly comic pendulums between candidates has attracted national attention, took one more twist on Tuesday when a drawing to break a tie was unexpectedly postponed. The Virginia State Board of Elections announced it would delay a drawing of lots after receiving a letter from lawyers for the Democratic candidate, Shelly Simonds, that she was legally fighting the ruling of a recount court last week. The election board’s one-line announcement, on Twitter, came just hours after an announcement that there would be a live video stream of the drawing, which was to be held adjacent to the State Capitol, in response to the huge interest in the race beyond Virginia.

Virginia: Recounts end with Bob Thomas win and Republican majority left to chance | The Washington Post

The last of four recounts in Virginia House of Delegates races ended Thursday with the status quo confirmed – Republican Bob Thomas appeared to win against Democrat Joshua Cole by a margin of 75 votes. But whether Thomas ultimately retains that seat in the 28th District remains unclear, as the race is the subject of a pending federal court challenge. Democrats are seeking a new election because more than 100 voters were given the wrong ballot on Election Day. A hearing on the case has been scheduled for Jan. 5, five days before the General Assembly is set to reconvene. The recount held Thursday reduced Thomas’ margin of victory over Cole from 82 votes to 75 votes. A three-judge recount court is scheduled to resolve a dispute over a single challenged ballot and certify the revised results in the afternoon.

Virginia: Officials will randomly pick winner of tied House of Delegates race | The Virginian-Pilot

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, Dec. 27. That’s the day the Virginia Board of Elections will randomly pick the winner of the high-stakes and tied 94th House District race. The impact? Control of the House of Delegates – and major policy decisions. After a recount and a court battle over one irregular, uncounted ballot, Del. David Yancey, R-Newport News, and Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds each have 11,608 votes. The winner will be determined by “drawing lots.”

Virginia: A court rules against Shelly Simonds one-vote victory for Virginia House of Delegates | The Washington Post

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 Newport News Circuit Court Judge Bryant L. Sugg, after the judges deliberated for more than two hours. He said the ballot in question contained a mark for Democrat Shelly Simonds as well as a mark for Republican Del. David Yancey but that the voter had made another mark to strike out Simonds’ name.

Virginia: Elections board to pick random winner in tied House race: ‘They put two names in, somebody shakes it up, and they pull it’ | Richmond Post-Dispatch

An apparent one-vote Democratic victory in a Newport News-area House of Delegates race turned into a tie Wednesday, creating an unprecedented scenario in which control of the House will be decided by state officials essentially drawing a name out of a hat. Under state law, the State Board of Elections now has to break the tie in the 94th House District through “determination by lot,” the wildest turn yet after a roller-coaster week in Virginia politics. Republican Del. David E. Yancey entered Tuesday’s recount with a 10-vote lead over Democrat Shelly Simonds. At the end of the recount, Simonds appeared to have a one-vote lead over Yancey, which would have created a 50-50 split in the House after Democrats flipped 15 other GOP-held seats in a wave election last month.

Virginia: In Virginia, a 11,608-to-11,607 Lesson in the Power of a Single Vote | The New York Times

The Democratic wave that rose on Election Day in Virginia last month delivered a final crash on the sand Tuesday when a Democratic challenger defeated a Republican incumbent by a single vote, leaving the Virginia House of Delegates evenly split between the two parties. The victory by Shelly Simonds, a school board member in Newport News, was a civics lesson in every-vote-counts as she won 11,608 to 11,607 in a recount conducted by local election officials. Ms. Simonds’s win means a 50-50 split in the State House, where Republicans had clung to a one-seat majority after losing 15 seats last month in a night of Democratic victories up and down the ballot, which were widely seen as a rebuke to President Trump. Republicans have controlled the House for 17 years.

Virginia: Recount Set to Begin for Virginia’s Tightest House Race | Associated Press

A recount is set begin for a Virginia House of Delegates race that could alter the power dynamic in Richmond. Election officials in Newport News on Tuesday will rescan ballots cast in the 94th District. It’s one of four recounts that were scheduled following extremely close House races this year. November’s elections had shrunk the Republicans’ 66-34 majority in the House to a 51-49 edge. The recounts will determine if the GOP maintains control.

Virginia: Briefs filed in Virginia Supreme Court in redistricting challenge | Augusta Free Press

Briefs were filed today in the Supreme Court of Virginia supporting the appeal in Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections, a case backed by OneVirginia2021, a bipartisan organization seeking to end the practice of gerrymandering legislative districts in the Commonwealth. The case, which challenges the General Assembly’s 2011 drawing of 11 House and Senate legislative districts, states the current boundaries violate the Virginia constitution’s requirement that districts be composed of territory that is “compact.”  

Virginia: Guide to how Virginia recounts work as four House races remain contested | The Washington Post

The first of four recounts in legislative races — which could change political control of the Virginia House of Delegates — began Wednesday in a courthouse in Fairfax County. That’s where Republican Del. Timothy D. Hugo holds a 106-vote edge over Democrat Donte Tanner in the 40th House District, which straddles Fairfax and Prince William counties. Republicans are holding onto their majority in the Virginia House of Delegates by a hair — they have just a two-seat advantage over Democrats in the lower chamber. Any one of the four contests under the microscope could tip the balance — including the contest with the slimmest margin, where Republican Del. David E. Yancey beat Democratic challenger Shelly Simonds by just 10 votes.

Virginia: Elections commissioner supports “appropriate” federal remedy for disputed 28th District House election | Free-Lance Star

The head of the Virginia Department of Elections wrote recently that he supports an “appropriate remedy” by a federal court for the disputed 28th District House of Delegates election in Fredericksburg and Stafford County. Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortés could get his wish. U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis this week set a date of Jan. 5—just five days before the General Assembly convenes—for a hearing on the House Democratic Caucus’ lawsuit requesting a new election for the seat, which could determine control of Richmond’s lower chamber. Democrats had requested the hearing on or before Dec. 22, but the judge set it later to “accommodate the court’s schedule.”

Virginia: Democrats seek special election for Fredericksburg-area House race | The Free-Lance Star

Virginia Democrats formally requested a court-ordered special election for the 28th District House of Delegates seat after revelations that more than 100 voters in the Fredericksburg region cast ballots in the wrong House race. Attorneys for the House Democratic Caucus filed court papers late Wednesday afternoon asking a federal judge to require a special election between Democrat Joshua Cole and Republican Del.-elect Bob Thomas, who won by just 82 votes on Nov. 7. They also requested federal court orders preventing Thomas from being seated in January and requiring the State Board of Elections to withdraw its certification of the results.

Virginia: Democrats request third recount in Virginia House of Delegates races | Washington Times

A third Democratic candidate has filed for a recount contesting the results of the November 7 election that nearly cost Republicans their majority status in the Virginia House of Delegates. The campaign of Josh Cole, the Democratic nominee in last month’s District 28 race, requested the recount Friday in Stafford Circuit Court, following in the footsteps of similar efforts mounted recently by fellow Democratic House of Delegates hopefuls Donte Tanner and Shelly Simonds. Republicans currently hold 66 of the 100 seats in the lower house of Virginia’s legislature, but that number is expected to change significantly next year as an outcome of last month’s vote.

Virginia: Democrat Joshua Cole to request recount in key Fredericksburg-area House election | The Free-Lance Star

Democratic House of Delegates candidate Joshua Cole confirmed Thursday that he will request a recount in the closely contested 28th District race that could determine control of Richmond’s lower chamber. Cole said he plans to file the request Friday in Stafford County Circuit Court, joining two other Democratic House candidates who asked for recounts earlier in the week. He lost to Stafford Republican Bob Thomas by 82 votes on Nov. 7, but Democrats have disputed the outcome amid revelations that voters in Fredericksburg and Stafford received ballots for the wrong House race. Because the race was so close, the state will foot the bill for the recount.

Virginia: State Board of Elections certifies disputed Fredericksburg-area results despite 147 people voting in the wrong House race | Richmond Post-Dispatch

Virginia’s State Board of Elections on Monday certified the results of two Fredericksburg-area House of Delegates elections, despite Democrats asking the board to delay the process because 147 people voted in the wrong House district. The elections board’s 3-0 vote to certify the results showing Republicans winning the 28th and 88th District races does not finalize the outcome. But it closes an initial, chaotic chapter in the legal battle over a close 28th District race that could decide which party controls the House after Democrats picked up at least 15 seats in a wave election on Nov. 7.