Battle Over Contested Virginia House Of Delegates Seat Will Drag On

The dramatic race for a Virginia House of Delegates seat that could decide which party controls the chamber — a race that’s come down to a name-drawing — is expected to continue into the new year.

After postponing the original name-drawing earlier this week, James Alcorn, chair of the state’s Board of Elections, on Friday rescheduled the name-drawing for Jan. 4 “unless the court system intervenes.”

On the eve of the original name-drawing Wednesday, Democratic candidate Shelly Simonds filed a court motion contesting a previous decision to count a contested ballot for her opponent, Republican incumbent David Yancey.

If Simonds were to win the seat, Republicans would lose their majority in Virginia’s House of Delegates after 17 years.

The court has yet to address the matter, as some of its judges are out of town for the holidays.

“Drawing names is an action of last resort,” Alcorn said Wednesday. “Any substantive concerns regarding the election or recount should be resolved before a random drawing is conducted.”

The turmoil over the seat has dragged on for more than a month. A recount originally proclaimed Simonds the winner by a mere one vote. Yancey then won a lawsuit that allowed a previously uncounted ballot to be counted as marked for him ― bringing the race to a tie.

Virginia House Democrats have called Yancey’s lawsuit a “desperate effort to change the outcome and steal the election” from Simonds.

“The court erred both in admitting the ballot for consideration, which broke the rules of the citizen-led recount process, as well as in counting the ballot for Yancey, which, according to guidelines from the State Board of Elections, had already been accurately classified as an overvote by both the Democratic and the Republican observers,” House Democratic Caucus spokesperson Katie Baker said in a statement Friday.

Virginia state law indicates that electoral ties should be resolved “by lot.” The candidate “who loses the determination by lot” could call for another recount.

This article has been updated with a statement from the Virginia House Democratic Caucus.

Related Articles

UPDATE: Wild Recount Ties GOP And Democrats For Control Of Virginia House Of Delegates

Control Of Virginia's House Of Delegates Could Come Down To Drawing Straws

Name-Drawing Delayed In Tied Virginia Race After Democrat Launches Last-Minute Court Challenge

Also on HuffPost

Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery, Ala.)

Alaska State Capitol (Juneau, Alaska)

Arizona State Capitol (Phoenix)

Arkansas State Capitol (Little Rock, Ark.)

California State Capitol (Sacramento, Calif.)

Colorado State Capitol (Denver)

Connecticut State Capitol (Hartford, Conn.)

Delaware State Capitol (Dover, Del.)

Florida State Capitol (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Georgia State Capitol (Atlanta)

Hawaii State Capitol (Honolulu)

Idaho State Capitol (Boise, Idaho)

Illinois State Capitol (Springfield, Ill.)

Indiana State Capitol (Indianapolis)

Iowa State Capitol (Des Moines, Iowa)

Kansas State Capitol (Topeka, Kan.)

Kentucky State Capitol (Frankfort, Ky.)

Louisiana State Capitol (Baton Rouge, La.)

Maine State Capitol (Augusta, Me.)

Maryland State House (Annapolis, Md.)

Massachusetts State House (Boston)

Michigan State Capitol (Lansing, Mich.)

Minnesota State Capitol (St. Paul, Minn.)

Mississippi State Capitol (Jackson, Miss.)

Missouri State Capitol (Jefferson City, Mo.)

Montana State Capitol (Helena, Mont.)

Nebraska State Capitol (Lincoln, Neb.)

Nevada State Capitol (Carson City, Nev.)

New Hampshire State House (Concord, N.H.)

New Jersey State House (Trenton, N.J.)

New Mexico State Capitol (Santa Fe, N.M.)

New York State Capitol (Albany, N.Y.)

North Carolina State Capitol (Raleigh, N.C.)

North Dakota State Capitol (Bismarck, N.D.)

Ohio Statehouse (Columbus, Ohio)

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.