Just one day before the state Board of Elections is set to decide the winner of the 94th House of Delegates district race by drawing lots, Democratic contender Shelly Simonds is taking the fight to court.
On Wednesday, the state Board of Elections is slated to determine a winner of the race between Shelly Simonds (D-Newport News) and Del. David Yancey (R-Newport News). A three-judge panel in Newport News circuit court declared the race a tie on Dec. 20.
Simonds had been declared the winner by the city’s board of elections on Dec. 19, after a recount.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Simonds asked the court to reconsider its decisions about the race, saying they were “manifestly unjust,” and suspend its order certifying the vote.
During a press call Tuesday afternoon, Simonds said she stands by the result of the recount.
“It was a fair process guided by rules,” she said.
Ezra Reese, an attorney for Simonds, said during the call the court was wrong to have considered a challenge to the ballot which made the election a tie.
Still, with the court closed Tuesday for the Christmas holiday, the legal maneuvering cast further uncertainty on the outcome of the race, including the balance of power in the House of Delegates.
