LET THIS be a newsflash to University students: Your vote does count. Never has this been clearer than on Tuesday night, when we went to bed not knowing who would be our Congressman-elect when we awoke the next morning. In fact, several mornings later, we still don’t know. In a race that is so close it won’t be settled for weeks, students know that their votes will be the decisive ones.
At this point it is still impossible to say what the final result will be. Will Republican incumbent Virgil Goode be reelected and serve a seventh term in Congress? Or will Democratic newcomer Tom Perriello prevail and become the first Democratic congressman from this district since, well, Virgil Goode.
Yes, that’s right. Virgil Goode was first elected, way back in 1996, as a conservative Democrat. Over time he went from Democrat, to Independent, and now is firmly ensconced in the Republican camp. And that’s just some of the trivia that is bound to become common knowledge with Virginia’s Fifth District making headlines as the recount is drawn out over the next month.
Yes, that’s right. A month. According to state election law, Virginia election results will not be finalized until the State Board of Elections meets on November 24 to certify the final tallies. Then, any losing candidate can file for a recount within 10 days, making the final deadline for all recount declarations December 4. While there are no automatic recounts in Virginia, most observers believe that whoever loses is likely to call for a recount. This choice is made even easier because the state pays for the recount costs in all races that are decided by half a percent or less. This race will certainly fall into that category.
How close is it? At the time of this writing, Perriello leads by just 832 votes out of the more than 300,000 cast. That is nearly a quarter of a percent. The lead keeps see-sawing back and forth between the two candidates as provisional ballots are accepted or disallowed and as voting errors are corrected.
On election night, The Associated Press actually began by calling the race for Goode. Later, Perriello was leading and The AP was eventually forced to withdraw that projection. As night gave way to dawn, Perriello held a slender lead. Then, at 8 the next morning, the State Board of Elections Web site began showing first Goode and then Perriello leading by miniscule margins.
Confusing, isn’t it? That is the price we pay for our democracy where we demand each vote be counted. All things considered, this confusion is less a symptom of a convoluted electoral system than a sign of a closely contested congressional race, something we should be grateful for. From Charlottesville and Albemarle County in the north to Danville and Martinsville, Fifth District voters were treated to a true race. There were two competent, mainstream candidates who waged a spirited and competitive campaign, not always a given in some of the 434 House districts across the country.
Additionaly, there were 316,429 voters. This is where the plaudits are due. Students should be commended heartily for taking a real interest in this race and ensuring that they were properly registered, that they voted, and that they encouraged other students to join them at the polls on Election Day. In the four precincts where most students vote (East Ivy, U-Hall, Alumni Hall, and Venable) turnout increased noticeably between 2004 and 2008. In East Ivy, turnout rose from 859 in 2004 to 1,169 in 2008. In U-Hall, turnout rose from 772 to 1,300, nearly doubling. In Alumni Hall, there were 1,097 in 2004, which rose to 1,469 this year. Venable saw an increase of almost 1,000 voters, going from 1,962 in 2004 to 2,904 in 2008. These are incredible increases that can be chalked up to more student voters and more student volunteers encouraging their neighbors to vote.
Marta Cook, chair of the Voter Registration Coalition here at the University and a former Cavalier Daily Opinion columnist, said voter registration on Grounds was overwhelming. “I ran out of [forms] as soon as I could get a hold of them.” The credit goes to a variety of organizations, from partisan student groups like the College Republicans and University Democrats, to non-partisan entities like Student Council and the U.Va. Center for Politics. As for student votes in the Fifth District race, Cook said, “It will be the difference.”
When elections are as close as this year’s Fifth District race, every vote counts. Students should be commended for turning out in record numbers. This year, our reward is something more than the “I voted” sticker you were handed on the way out of the polling place. This year, we can stand up and say we made the difference in this election. And that will be true no matter which way it turns out.
Isaac Wood’s column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at i.wood@cavalierdaily.com.
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