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Thousands of uncounted votes keep 3 races up in air

By Shawn Day and Deirdre Fernandes, The Virginian-Pilot - 11/6/2008

VIRGINIA BEACH

Forget Florida's hanging chads. Absentee ballots are the culprits for uncertainty about election results this week in Virginia Beach. The winners of three contests, including the race for mayor, were unclear Wednesday because the counting of 26,778 absentee votes still hadn't been completed.

The votes, if they go overwhelmingly to the trailing candidate, could be enough to sway the result or force a recount in three races: mayor, the City Council's Rose Hall seat, and the 2nd District of the U.S. House of Representatives. The absentee ballots represent about 10 percent of the city's registered voters.

Mayor Meyera Oberndorf trailed challenger Will Sessoms by about 10,000 votes in unofficial results from 94 precincts. Wednesday afternoon, she told reporters at City Hall that she had congratulated Sessoms by phone on his victory.

"The voters have spoken," she said, "and we will have a new mayor."

Perhaps, but not so fast.

Two hours later, Oberndorf learned of the outstanding votes. "Holy Christopher, that's a lot of ballots!" she said.

Dave Iwans, Sessoms' campaign spokesman, was just as startled. "Holy Moly," he said. "This is ridiculous."

The mayor would need more than two of those votes for every one that goes to Sessoms to secure a sixth term.

Oberndorf reminisced about her tenure - "The past 20 years have been an exciting time for me" - and improvements in the city, including the Lake Gaston pipeline and the development of Princess Anne Commons into a health and education corridor.

She, a friend and an aide spent an emotional few minutes in her office behind a closed door before her concession speech.

U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, the Republican incumbent in the 2nd District congressional race, said she would not conced e until all the votes are counted, even though she trails Democrat Glenn Nye by about 8,000.

For City Council member Reba McClanan, who is behind Glenn R. Davis Jr. by about 9,000 votes in the race for the Rose Hall seat, the news provided renewed hope. She was receiving bouquets of flowers from supporters mourning her apparent defeat.

"The whole thing has been up and down and around," McClanan said. "Here I thought the thing was decided. And it may be."

A spokesman for Davis downplayed the effect of the absentee ballots.

"It would be a big surprise if the percentages of absentee ballots were so different from the rest of the city," Brian Kirwin said. "You've got to run such a super majority."

Officials suspended the counting of absentee ballots by 5 p.m. Wednesday and planned to resume at 10 this morning, registrar Pat Harrington said.

There were 16,663 absentee ballots cast in person, and 10,115 ballots mailed to the registrar's office.

All but about 3,000 had been counted by Wednesday afternoon, but no results would be released until all the votes are counted, said Anne Rinehart, chief of absentee balloting. The count is taking place in a second-floor conference room of the registrar's office.

Officials began counting the absentee ballots at 5 a.m. Tuesday and continued until 5 a.m. Wednesday, when they stopped for a break. They resumed around noon Wednesday and stopped again at 5 p.m. The absentee ballots will boost the Beach's total voter turnout to about 70 percent.

Tim Barrow, vice chair of the Virginia Beach electoral board, said this year's election drew about twice as many absentee ballots as normal. He said that turning around a 10,000-vote deficit would "take a massive sweep."

"We'll just have to wait and see," he said. "It's possible, but with that kind of gap, it would be a tough hurdle."

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com