Two hotel rooms on opposite ends of Capitol Square were just booked.
Newport News Circuit Court has finally ruled that the election in HOD-94 is indeed a tie, which means that the drawing by lots as prescribed by law will proceed in an otherwise embarrassing ruling against Virginia Democrats. To wit:
The right of a citizen to cast a free vote has been secured to us by the blood of patriots shed from Lexington and Concord to Selma, Alabama. The manifest injustice against which we must always guard is the chance that a single vote may not be counted. It matters not the importance of the disposition of a ballot in a given election; it matters the dignity of the citizen, the integrity of the electoral process, and the destiny of our constitutional republic. These principles animate the provisions of Title 24-2, Chapter 9 of the Code of Virginia. The application of these statutory provisions required this Court to rule as it did on December 20th, and require it again to so rule.
The Code of Virginia is clear on the process of drawing by lot:
If any two or more persons have an equal number of votes and a higher number than any other person for member of the General Assembly or of the Congress of the United States, or elector of President and Vice President of the United States, the State Board of Elections shall proceed publicly to determine by lot which of them shall be declared elected. Reasonable notice shall be given to such candidates of the time when such elections shall be so determined; and if they, or either of them, shall fail to appear in accordance with such notice, the Board shall proceed so as to determine the election in their absence.
Note that there is no requirement for either party to be present. Simply that the lots must be drawn. Either party can request a recount after the result (and undoubtedly, they will).
