ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Republican candidate for Roanoke City Mayor David Bowers petitioned the Roanoke Circuit Court for a recount Thursday afternoon after the results were certified by the Roanoke City Electoral Board with him trailing Democrat Joe Cobb by just 59 votes.
Claiming inconsistencies and irregularities in the vote-counting process, Bowers explained his decision to request a recount before Cobb took a chance to respond later Thursday afternoon.
“I think the people in Roanoke want to have a recount and I think it was my obligation to ask for one,” said Bowers.
The former Mayor led by 19 votes on election night before his lead slipped away as more than 1,500 outstanding absentee and provisional ballots were counted.
Many of the provisional ballots came from same-day voter registration, which allows people to register to vote on election day and cast a ballot that is marked provisional until their voter eligibility can be confirmed.
This year was the first Presidential election year in which the practice was legal in Virginia and Bowers disagreed with its use.
“Same-day registration in voting, I’m opposed to it and this is a good reason why,” he said. “Election day should be election day. It should be over on election day.”
When reminded that the practice is legal in Virginia, Bowers responded by saying that it should not be.
“If you’re a responsible citizen, you should get yourself down to the registrar, you should get yourself registered, you should be vetted or whatever they do and then you’re prepared to vote on election day,” Bowers said.
According to the Virginia Department of Elections, Bowers received 311 provisional votes, just 11 fewer than Cobb.
In a statement to the media Thursday afternoon, Cobb praised the electoral board for the work it has done through this process.
“They diligently followed secure procedures and verified and counted all ballots in certifying the election results,” he said. “I stand by this outcome.”
Bowers declined to answer whether he would accept the results of the recount.
He also questioned the vote-counting process.
“The city registrar was able to count 40,000 votes in a matter of hours,” Bowers said. “Yet the same-day voter registration routine or scheme or whatever you want to call it took six or seven days.”
Bowers also said he was worried that the Roanoke College Poll published just before the election discouraged some of his voters from turning out because of the large lead it projected for Cobb.
The current margin of 0.15% falls well within the half-percent threshold that allows for a locality-funded recount.
The Roanoke Circuit Court now has seven calendar days to hold a meeting to appoint the three judges who will preside over the process and determine when the recount will take place.
WFXR will continue to follow this race as it moves through the recount process.