Democrats in Virginia are trying their best to swipe an election somewhere, somehow, in order to gain control of the state’s House of Delegates, but so far they’re coming up empty.
The Democratic “blue wave” in Virginia that swept the governorship and a significant chunk of the GOP’s advantage in the Virginia House of Delegates has come to a screeching halt with Republicans holding on to a slim 51-49 majority thanks to both a lottery-style drawing won by the Republican incumbent in one district’s tied election and now a Friday ruling by a federal judge rejecting Democratic requests for a new election in another district.
Citing “ballot mistakes,” according to an AP report, including 147 voters having received the wrong ballot, Democrats had hoped to force a new election in the state’s 28th district, but U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled on Friday that “garden variety irregularities” in voting do not necessarily merit federal court intervention in state elections.
In the race, Democrat Joshua Cole lost to Republican Bob Thomas by a mere 73 votes.
Ellis ruled that a few innocent errors present “no claim of a great claim of a conspiracy to dilute these votes or do anything nefarious” in a district where over 20,000 people voted.
In other words, a Democratic sore loser doesn’t get to contest an election simply because the vote was close.
“An election has got to have a beginning and an end,” said Michael Matheson, an attorney for local election officials who believe they acted in good faith and there was no need for a special election.
However, instead of entirely dismissing the case, Ellis rejected a preliminary injunction request that would have reportedly ordered a new election. If more evidence presents itself, the judge could still order a special election, but “it’s going to take much more than I’ve seen” thus far, the judge said.
Ellis has been reluctant for federal courts to intervene in state elections before, having rejected a temporary restraining order barring state elections officials from certifying the GOP winner just last month.
The 66-34 majority Republicans enjoyed in the House of Delegates before the election may have shrunk to the lowest possible threshold to maintain a majority, but it looks like they’re holding the line there, which will be a nice check on the newly elected Democratic governor.
Wake up right! Receive our free morning news blast HERE
Any op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BizPac Review.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- West Point accepts Parkland student’s application to military academy after his tragic death - February 21, 2018
- Nancy Pelosi is in middle of grandstanding at Arizona townhall when question yelled from audience grinds it to a halt - February 21, 2018
- Columbine survivor blows media’s plan to exploit naive students – here’s what happens when they grow up - February 20, 2018
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
