# 2017 Virginia Gov. race: Gillespie (R) vs. Northam (D) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 14, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920 "2017-06-14T02:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/301 "2018-01-04T19:47:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Expect Fox to declare this a “mandate.” The oracles have spoken, and they have declared a winner! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/302 "2018-01-04T19:55:03Z")
Hey there’s no mandate more authoritative than the Biblical casting of lots! This is the hugest Mandate since Matthias took over for Judas Iscariot! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/303 "2018-01-04T21:51:58Z")
Had a surprisingly busy day for a snow day, so I didn’t find out who won the drawing until 10 minutes ago. Yesterday, Simonds proposed a deal to Yancey where they would both agree to abide by the outcome of the drawing - no appeals, no more recounts, no nothing. Yancey rejected that offer, and Simonds is considering her options. I’m not sure which options are real and which are illusory, but _Yancey_ must have believed there are real options, otherwise there’s no reason not to accept that deal. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/304 "2018-01-04T21:56:58Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Had a surprisingly busy day for a snow day, so I didn’t find out who won the drawing until 10 minutes ago. > > Yesterday, Simonds proposed a deal to Yancey where they would both agree to abide by the outcome of the drawing - no appeals, no more recounts, no nothing. > > Yancey rejected that offer, and Simonds is considering her options. I’m not sure which options are real and which are illusory, but _Yancey_ must have believed there are real options, otherwise there’s no reason not to accept that deal. Dueling pistols at dawn. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/305 "2018-01-04T21:57:07Z")
And now is she just gonna fold? That’s what pisses me off about Democrats the past 20 years: they don’t fight at all, they just let the GOP [del]walk[/del]shit all over them (and our country). FIGHT FOR IT! Don’t let him game the system and take your election win without a fucking fight ffs. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/306 "2018-01-04T23:44:08Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > And now is she just gonna fold? Is she? Link, please. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/307 "2018-01-05T02:23:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Is she? Link, please. What is it you think I’m going to provide a link to? My own question? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/308 "2018-01-05T14:57:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > And now is she just gonna fold? That’s what pisses me off about Democrats the past 20 years: they don’t fight at all, they just let the GOP [del]walk[/del]shit all over them (and our country). > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Is she? Link, please. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What is it you think I’m going to provide a link to? My own question? 😕 Why don’t we take this bullshit and chuck it in the quarry. Yeah, that evenhanded ‘question’ of yours. ‘I was _just_ asking a _question!_’ Yeah. Quarry. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/309 "2018-01-05T17:02:47Z")
Per [Larry Sabato](https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/948947832039526401), Dems got 55% of the vote in VA House of Delegates races. And will only get 49 out of 100 seats. (Dems had a 54-44 edge in districts where both parties had candidates, so the imbalance had nothing to do with uncontested districts.) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/310 "2018-01-05T17:04:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Per [Larry Sabato](https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/948947832039526401), Dems got 55% of the vote in VA House of Delegates races. And will only get 49 out of 100 seats. > > (Dems had a 54-44 edge in districts where both parties had candidates, so the imbalance had nothing to do with uncontested districts.) Sounds like democracy to me. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/311 "2018-01-05T17:05:21Z")
I don’t get it. The ballot in question is clearly “spoiled”, if you screw up or change your mind, you go get a fresh ballot and try, try again. What was there even to argue about? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/312 "2018-01-05T17:07:30Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I don’t get it. The ballot in question is clearly “spoiled”, if you screw up or change your mind, you go get a fresh ballot and try, try again. What was there even to argue about? If they followed the rules and marked an obviously spoiled ballot as invalid, then the democrat would have won. Since the republican must win, the ballot must be counted, even if that is clearly against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/313 "2018-01-05T17:22:47Z")
So now we know that the way to win an election is to grab a bunch of ballots out of the already-counted pile and say “Oops, we meant to count these before, now count them again.” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/314 "2018-01-06T04:18:38Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Why don’t we take this bullshit and chuck it in the quarry. > > Yeah, that evenhanded ‘question’ of yours. ‘I was _just_ asking a _question!_’ > > Yeah. Quarry. You’ve put all kinds of words and motivations on me; I have no idea why. I asked a question in my post, you quoted it and you said “cite?” I asked what you think I’d cite and you call something, apparently my reply, “bullshit”. What kind of cite do you want for a question? What the fuck are you on about? Your request and now your reply are not coherent. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/315 "2018-01-06T16:09:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You’ve put all kinds of words and motivations on me; I have no idea why. > > I asked a question in my post, you quoted it and you said “cite?” I asked what you think I’d cite and you call something, apparently my reply, “bullshit”. What kind of cite do you want for a question? What the fuck are you on about? Your request and now your reply are not coherent. Your comment seemed to be declaring that she was giving up. The question posed appeared to me to be rhetorical. I won’t speak for anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/316 "2018-01-06T16:53:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What the fuck are you on about? I’d ask the same question of you, though the ‘about’ seems superfluous. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/317 "2018-01-06T17:37:24Z")
That’s enough, both of you. Any more personal cracks - by anyone - about another poster will be sanctioned. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/318 "2018-01-06T21:27:04Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > If they followed the rules and marked an obviously spoiled ballot as invalid, then the democrat would have won. > > Since the republican must win, the ballot must be counted, even if that is clearly against the rules. Actually, it’s not clearly “against the rules.” There are rules in place to deal with ballots like this. Whether or not that should have resulted in this ballot being counted as being a vote for the Republican candidate is, of course, debatable. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/319 "2018-01-07T14:01:44Z")
[Here ya go.](https://www.elections.virginia.gov/Files/ElectionAdministration/ElectionLaw/ExamplesforHandcounting.pdf) How do you find it debatable? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920/320 "2018-01-07T16:08:36Z")
Somewhere in these seven pages there must be a bit of a discussion on McAuliffe restoring voting rights to felons…can somebody point me to it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2017-virginia-gov-race-gillespie-r-vs-northam-d/788920.md?page=17)