It would be insane to count ballots marked liked that because, the second oval filling and strike could have been done after the election by anyone who has access to the ballots!
Given the how ethically challenged that Republicans have shown themselves to be, it would not surprise me if that is what happened.
But this was a three judge appellate bench, the three judges all chosen by GOP state assemblymen. To me this way of choosing state judges is a recipe for an autocratic government.
Not only is that vote invalid, the judge who deemed it valid should be removed from the bench and disbarred.
Neither election officials nor judges should undertake to attempt to interpret the intention of the voter. In this case, my understanding is that the lawyers for the GOP candidate argued that, since this voter voted only for Republican candidates for the other offices on the ballot, they should find that his intention in this race was to vote for the Republican candidate. That interpretation of intent is probably correct, but who knowsâperhaps the voter had a personal dislike for the GOP candidate or was a personal friend of the Democratic candidate. And this becomes a classic slippery slope. Once the court starts interpreting intent, where does it stop? What happens when the intent is less apparent?The only properâand legalâresult here would have been to throw out the ballot.
When there is a hand count of ballots, the Virginia Department of Elections says an overvote ballot should be counted if the voter has made clear either through clarifying marks that she intended to vote for one particular candidate.
I covered the Dept. of Elections guidance in this comment when the judges agreed to count the ballot. The DOE document is here.
The ballot very clearly should have been considered void per the § 24.2-663 you quoted. The little tick mark on the filled in bubble was very far from rendering the bubble âerased, scratched out, or otherwise obliterated.â
As long as a) Yancey goes first, and
b) they play with an automatic.
But was it really a tie?
I think not.
Per VA code, there is no election do-over, but the unlucky candidate can request a recount: âAny person who loses the determination by lot may petition for a recount pursuant to Article 1 (§ 24.2-800 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of this title.â
Iâm dubious that it applies to this case, as there has already been a recount, but I leave that to those who have the appropriate schooling.
and
(c) Wayne Lapierre is standing behind him.
Well, there was also a tick mark next to Gillespie, so this vote doesnât count either. Which means Republicans canât say âallâ votes on the ballot were for Republicans.
By Republicans own admissions, there are two which were not for Republicans. So the vote for Yancy should not count.
None of the Virginia DOE instructions on recounts rely on how voters have marked the ballot for other races. Marks on the ballot that are not in the area of the recount race are ignored except when:
Any other writing or remark on the ballot (other than a write-in unless a write-in candidate is a party to the recount) that clearly indicates the voterâs support for one and only one candidate for the office that is the subject of the recount, and that cannot be interpreted as a remark in favor of any other candidate in that election, shall be counted as a vote for that candidate.
The ballot should not be counted, because there were two bubbles filled in for the 94th District race, and the voter did not clearly indicate by other marks that she intended to vote for one specific candidate in the race.
Thanks, I stand corrected.
I guess I picked the wrong week to give up duelingâŚ
without someone scouring the rest of the election law for the effect, on the interpretation of defacing the original vote, we donât have what we need to see if your interpretation is right. But good half of the work,
Actually, i think the loser of the lot pick can request another recount. Which is likely where this is heading if they go through with it. And given the new, "creativeâ interpretations on intent, I imagine a surprising number of additional ballots, no matter how marred, will be pressed into service.