Press Release from GOP Caucus about House District 94 Lawsuit

News on Tuesday of an additional lawsuit filed in House District 94 brought a press release from the Virginia House Republican Caucus:

“Virginia election law lays out clearly the rules of recounts, which are conducted under the supervision of a three-judge Court with final authority over all matters pertaining to the recount. We followed that process and the Court confirmed the results of the election in the 94th District as a tie. We believe the Court acted appropriately and that the integrity of the process is without question. We are reviewing the filing and determining what, if any, response we might file.

“However, it must be noted that on Thursday, December 21, following the conclusion of the recount in House District 28 but before the three-judge court certified the results, attorneys representing Democrat Joshua Cole submitted a written statement challenging an additional ballot that was not challenged during the recount. The Court agreed to review the ballot. After review, the Court agreed to count the ballot for Cole. This is exactly analogous to our actions in House District 94 and demonstrates unequivocally that the actions of the Court in Newport News were appropriate and equitable.”

Bearing Drift’s Rick Sincere, a former electoral board member, offered insight into the ramifications of the latest lawsuit, noting:

There is no case law in Virginia establishing a legal precedent for challenging a recount court’s finding of a tie and the State Board of Elections’ procedure to determine an outcome by lot. We’re in uncharted territory here and the Newport News Circuit Court will find itself in an unusual, not to say unique, position in accepting Simonds’ challenge.

Rick wrote that, in his opinion based on his experience on the electoral board, the voter intended to cast the ballot with the overvote intact, and chose to let it be submitted in the knowledge that his vote in that race would not count. Be sure and read that and more here.