Questions are swirling around two close elections in the Fredericksburg region that appear destined for recounts. In a conference call Friday, House Democratic Caucus Executive Director Trent Armitage said that 55 military ballots delivered to the Stafford County registrar’s post office box on Tuesday—Election Day—went uncounted because they were not picked up until Wednesday. Democrats said they had no way of knowing which candidates the 55 votes went for, but the ballots arrived on time and came from active-duty military personnel. “We find that to be absolutely ridiculous,” Armitage said. Stafford Supervisor Laura Sellers, a Democrat, lost her Garrisonville District seat to Republican Mark Dudenhefer by just 15 votes. And Republican Bob Thomas holds an 83-vote lead over Democrat Joshua Cole in the race for the 28th District House of Delegates seat representing parts of Fredericksburg and Stafford.
… In a separate issue, Sellers said the county registrar is not releasing the names and addresses on provisional ballots cast there, an allegation at least being watched by ACLU Virginia.
“We are concerned by the apparent refusal of the Registrar, allegedly with the support of the Local Electoral Board, to make available for review and copying the provisional ballot logs that each precinct is required to keep,” ACLU Virginia said in an email statement to The Free Lance–Star Friday.
… Concern that some Fredericksburg voters received the wrong ballots Tuesday is also adding drama to the 28th District House contest. The confusion stems from Fredericksburg’s “split” polling places, where some voters received ballots listing 28th District candidates while others got ballots with the 88th District contenders instead.
Full Article: Vote count in close Stafford races fuels criticism, concern | Election | fredericksburg.com.