by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Republicans are still fighting each other over the primary results in the Fifth Congressional District. 

As reported by Cardinal News, Bob Good is still contesting his loss in the Congressional primary and a candidate for Lynchburg City Council has filed suit to invalidate the results.

According to the latest tally, Good, the incumbent, trails John McGuire by 376 votes. He raises three objections to certifying the election:

• Fire alarms went off in three precincts. Good claims the odds are against that being a coincidence. However, the cause of each fire alarm going off has been identified as innocuous. Furthermore, no potential voters were turned away.
• Ballot tabulation in Albemarle County began without a Good representative present. Good won the vote in the county and his current percentage (almost 55 percent) is virtually the same as the unofficial percentage on election night. Therefore, it is hard to see that anything untoward was going on.
• Unsecured drop box. A dropbox in Lynchburg was left unsecured and ballots were found and counted days after it should have been checked. For a party that is constantly voicing complaints about “election integrity” and is now in charge of the electoral process, this is embarrassing. On the practical level, however, only seven ballots were involved, not enough to have influenced any election.

The margin between Good and McGuire is 0.6 percent of the total number of votes cast, small enough to entitle Good to request a recount. However, because it is greater than 0.5 percent, he would have to pay for it. Cardinal News estimates the cost would be greater than $100,000.

In the city of Lynchburg Republican primary contest for a council seat, incumbent Chris Faraldi was being challenged by Peter Alexander, who was backed by Marty Misjuns, the maverick council member who has been censured by the council majority.  (See “Showdown in Hill City.) Final voting totals show Faraldi winning by 33 votes. In his suit, Alexander alleges that the registrar received 125 absentee ballots, but the records do not show they were ever counted.

Unlike Good, Alexander does not have the option to request a recount. The 33-vote margin between the two candidates is 1.6 percent of the total 2,051 votes cast. State law allows for a recount when the margin is 1.0 percent or less. Consequently, he is taking the unusual step of suing to have the election invalidated.

The State Board of Elections meets tomorrow to officially certify the election results.