RICHMOND, Va. -- Lawsuits, threats and recriminations are flying as Virginia wrestles with the tricky question of what to do about the 147 voters in and around a crucial district who were given the wrong ballots for elections earlier this month.
Depending on what happens to that seat and two others, the 100-member House of Delegates could fall into Democratic hands for the first time in nearly 20 years or find itself evenly divided.
It could take several weeks and the intervention of the courts to determine the outcome.
"I've never seen anything like this," Virginia Board of Elections Chairman James Alcorn said.
Republicans have gone from having a 66-34 majority in the House to an apparent 51-49 lead, with GOP candidates clinging to slim leads in three districts. There were no elections this year for the state Senate, where Republicans hold a majority by one seat.
In the 28th District, in the Fredericksburg area about 50 miles south of Washington, Republican Bob Thomas leads Democrat Joshua Cole by 82 votes. But the state elections commission recently found that 147 voters in that district and neighboring ones cast their ballots in the wrong districts.
The reason they were assigned to the wrong districts is unclear, as the registrar responsible for the assignments died in April. But Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes said it was probably an error by a registrar working with limited resources and antiquated equipment. He said Virginia has underfunded its election offices around the state and that similar problems could exist in other districts.
Virginia's off-year elections were closely watched as a potential referendum on President Donald Trump and as a preview of the U.S.' midterm elections next year. Virginia Democrats captured all three statewide offices and exceeded most predictions for the state House races.
On Monday, the Board of Elections voted to certify the results in the 28th District after Democrats failed to get a federal court to delay action. Alcorn said state law left the board with little choice but that there were clear irregularities in the district and that he hopes the courts step in.
Democratic House Leader David Toscano said his party is weighing its options. The Democrats have already filed a lawsuit in federal court in hopes of persuading a judge to order a new election in the district.
"This is really uncharted territory, but I think the logic we have is very strong," Toscano said.
GOP House Leader Kirk Cox, who is to be speaker if the Republicans maintain their majority, said he was disappointed the board held up the certification until Monday.
"Dragging this process out has only prolonged the important work that remains to be done by both sides" in preparation for the coming session, he said.
Democrats have until later this week to file requests for recounts in two other close races: in Newport News, where Republican David Yancey has a 10-vote lead, and in northern Virginia, where GOP candidate Tim Hugo is ahead by 106 votes.
If the final result is a 50-50 split in the House, the two parties might have to compromise to elect a speaker and assign committee chairmanships.
The last time the House was evenly divided was 20 years ago, when the parties reached a power-sharing agreement.
A Section on 11/28/2017