The One Vote That Changed It All

People may tell you that during an election "your vote doesn't matter". Everyone seems to have the mindset that one vote doesn't make a difference in an election with thousands of people voting. Today, we see that this is not the case.

Moments ago, Republican David Yancey defeated his Democratic opponent Shelly Simonds in the delegate race in Virginia's 94th district. The winner was determined by picking a name out of a ceremonial bowl due to the election being at an exact tie because of one single miscounted ballot.

This election has been hotly contested ever since election night 2 months ago. Initially, Yancey seemed to be the winner by ending up with a 10 vote lead on his opponent. Simonds called for a recount, and in the recount it was found that she had actually had one vote lead over Yancey. Since the election was literally down to the single digits, the election was brought to court to be reviewed.

What was found in the court battle was an unprecedented discovery: there was 1 ballot that had not been counted for Yancey. The court awarded Yancey the vote, moving the election to be determined by lot. These margins have not been seen in an election this large in modern history, and never  has it been for a seat so important.

This particular seat is so important because of the House of Delegate's ideological split that arose during the delegate election. Democrats successfully flipped 15 seats in the Virginia House, giving them 49 delegates, leaving the the Republicans with only 50 delegates (having 66-34 lead previously).

The race between Yancey and Simonds would determine if the Republicans would keep a majority in the House, or if there would be an even split at 50-50. As of January 4th 2017, Yancey has won the election via lot drawing, giving the Republican's a 51-49 majority in the House, and a current 21-19 lead in the senate. This will leave the Virginia political climate heavily divided, since there is once again a Democratic governor, and a Republican controlled legislative body.

Simonds can technically call for a third and final recount, but before the drawing, she asked Yancey that if he lost the drawing that he not call for another recount. Even though the Republican's still hold a very slight majority in the legislature in Virginia, they do not have the numbers to bypass a veto by Northam, meaning that likely nothing will get done legislatively in Virginia, much like in Washington.