Former Richmond Mayor Rudolph C. “Rudy” McCollum Jr. has asked for an investigation of alleged voting irregularities in the firehouse primary Saturday that gave Del. Roslyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, the Democratic nomination to succeed retired state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond.
McCollum, who finished third in the four-way race, said Tuesday he asked J.J. Minor, chairman of the 16th Senate District nominating committee, to investigate allegations of people pocketing ballots and improperly conducting curbside voting in Petersburg, where Dance won with a big turnout.
“These are certainly what I would consider to be irregularities,” he said. “I’m hoping the party addresses these issues.”
Robert Dempsey, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said Tuesday he has not received an appeal, which can be filed only by one of the six members of the district nominating committee.
People are also reading…
“The first step in this thing is there needs to be an appeal,” Dempsey said, “and, so far, there hasn’t been one filed.”
Minor could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He is chairman of the nominating committee because Richmond had the largest number of voters in the last general election of the six jurisdictions in the 16th Senate District.
He also is the son of Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, who trailed Dance by 350 votes in the unofficial results, despite receiving the endorsements of Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones and 85 other community leaders.
Jones also is chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, but he said Monday he endorsed McQuinn, a longtime political protégé, as mayor, not party chairman, because he wanted a Richmond resident to represent the district.
Dance, who received 1,725 of the nearly 4,000 votes cast, said she is waiting for certification of the election results, which must be transmitted to the State Board of Elections by Friday afternoon for the nominee to be on the ballot for the November general election. The certification was scheduled to be completed Tuesday, when the final vote canvass was conducted.
“As the votes are counted, I still have a significant lead,” she said.
Dempsey said Dance’s margin narrowed to 315 votes in the final tally, or 8 percent of the 3,956 votes cast. Even if an appeal is filed, he said, “I am definitely of a mindset we are going to have this resolved and file the paperwork on time.”
McCollum, who unofficially received 592 votes, acknowledged that an investigation would not change the outcome of his bid for the Senate nomination. He also said he does not know whether the ballots allegedly shown on video being put in people’s pockets were blank or had been voted.
“I don’t know — that’s why I’m asking,” he said.
Craig Bieber, McQuinn’s campaign manager, said that she and her campaign “are not going to be challenging or appealing any alleged irregularities that may have occurred on Saturday.” McQuinn received 1,375 votes, according to the unofficial count.
Political newcomer Gerry Rawlinson received 108 votes. The unofficial results also showed 156 uncounted provisional ballots, which would be opened if the canvass were to drop Dance’s margin enough.
Dance won handily in Petersburg and four other Southside jurisdictions she represents in the 63rd House District. McQuinn won in Richmond with almost 60 percent of the vote, but turnout there lagged behind Petersburg.
“It’s been a long journey, that’s all I can say,” Dance said Tuesday.