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Dems Want New Election that Could Decide VA State House

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Democratic voters are making their case for a new election in a tight race that could force a 50-50 split in Virginia's House of Delegates.

They say their disenfranchisement was far from a garden-variety election error.

Republican Bob Thomas beat Democrat Joshua Cole by 73 votes, but elections officials say 147 voters received the wrong ballots.

On Friday, a judge in Alexandria rejected the request for a new election, saying the ballot errors amount to "garden-variety irregularities."

In their appeal, the voters say the ballot errors make it impossible to know the true winner in the 28th District. They presented this argument in papers filed Monday with the federal appeals court in Richmond.

The opposing side has until Monday afternoon to respond.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.