Braswell to Request Recount in Battlefield District Supervisor Race
Incumbent Chris Yakabouski was ahead by 16 votes after provisional ballots were counted Monday morning.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Incumbent Chris Yakabouski is still ahead of challenger Baron Braswell in the race for the Battlefield district seat on the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, but his lead narrowed to 16 votes after provisional ballots were counted on Monday morning.
Braswell told the Advance this morning that he plans to request a recount.
“I believe a recount is prudent when it’s this close, to make sure folks are confident in the numbers and no one feels disenfranchised,” Braswell said. “Sixteen votes out of 7,700 cast—that’s pretty close.”
Braswell said he spoke with Yakabouski by phone about his plans, and that Yakabouski indicated that “if the shoe were on the other foot, he would do the same thing.”
The county’s Electoral Board met at 9 a.m. this morning to make a decision about provisional ballots that were cast on Tuesday and to count those that were accepted.
Kellie Acors, the county’s general registrar, said 545 provisional ballots were accepted and processed on Monday.
According to the Virginia Department of Elections, a voter may be offered a provisional ballot if they register to vote on the same day as the election; if their name cannot be located in the pollbook or if the pollbook shows they already voted; if there was a court order extending voting hours; if they did not have required ID; or “where an unforeseen circumstance or emergency causes either a regular ballot to be unavailable or it is not clear that the voter should be allowed to cast a regular ballot.”
Braswell said that during his phone call with Yakabouski this morning, he congratulated his opponent for having run a positive campaign.
“We both tried to focus on the positives of what we want to do and who we are,” he said.
According to preliminary results from the Virginia Department of Elections and VPAP, Braswell won the Lee’s Parke precinct on Election Day with 60.31% of the vote. Yakabouski won the other three precincts—by 54% at Spotswood Elementary; 52% at Eastland Church; and 56.6% at Courtland Elementary.
Yakabouski won early in-person votes by 52%, but Braswell won the mail-in votes—both those that came in early and those that were received and processed by the Friday after Election Day.
“People need to realize – Every Vote Counts!!” Acors said in an email to the Advance.
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