VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Over 169,000 Virginia Beach voters went to the polls for this midterm election, a stunning turnout.
But some had to fill in provisional ballots that weren’t officially counted Friday.
“Voters voted in the wrong polling location or voters were not registered to vote, so we are going through these one at a time for every single person who cast a provisional ballot,” said Voter Registrar Donna Patterson.
914 provisional ballots were cast, but only a fraction were officially counted.
Patterson and her officials look at the reasons the provisional votes were cast and decide whether those votes should count.
“Some people did not present photo ID on Tuesday when they came to vote and they have presented in that case their ballot will count if the voted at the right polling location,” Patterson said.
Three races were close enough to make the provisional count matter.
154 votes separated Councilman John Uhrin and challenger David Nygaard. Nygaard was already ahead by 182 votes and gained 82 votes to his previous 47,853 for a total of 47,935 votes. Uhrin gained 52 votes to go from 47,671 to 47,723. 212 votes now separate that race.
Challenger Dee Oliver trailed Councilman John Moss by 364 votes. In the provisional count, Oliver only gained 19 votes on Moss by picking up 71 provisional votes to Moss’ 52. She trails by 346 votes, 56,833 to 56,487.
And Mayor Louis Jones, who is running for his Bayside District seat, led challenger Brad Martin by 506 votes before the provisional count. Martin only gained ground by 6 votes, 98 to 92, in the provisional count. Jones now leads 70,699 70,198. The margin of victory now stands at 501.
The Nygaard and Uhrin race is expected to go to a recount, and Oliver is also likely to request one. Candidates are entitled to the recount, and it’s free.
“People who were not in the poll book sometimes it is as simple as the official could not find the voters and that is a simple one,” Patterson said. “The voter did show up at the polling location, yes they are eligible to vote.”