FAIRFAX, Va. — The first day of a recount in a Fairfax County-centered House of Delegates district wrapped up Wednesday with the incumbent Republican ahead and one more day of counting to go.
Del. Tim Hugo held on to his lead in the 40th District although Democrat Donte Tanner had a net gain of four votes in the precincts completed on Wednesday. But that would not put a significant dent in Hugo’s original 106-vote lead.
The recount will continue Thursday morning and is expected to last a few hours.
About 30,000 votes were cast in the race to represent the district, which also stretches into Prince William County.
This is the first of four recounts in House races that will determine which — if either — party controls the chamber following Democratic gains in the Nov. 7 election. If the certified results hold, Republicans would narrowly keep their majority 51-49.
The Prince William County ballots were rolled into what is normally a jury assembly room in the Fairfax County Courthouse just after 9:30 a.m. in two large black containers and a flatbed cart.
Ballots from five Prince William County precincts plus any provisional and absentee ballots cast in the race will be counted. Sorting through all of the county’s thousands of absentee ballots cast to identify those in the 40th District could be the most time-consuming part of the recount.
Fairfax County’s count began not long after.
Fairfax County has 16 precincts in the district plus absentee and provisional votes. The county has high-speed scanning machines that can count and sort ballots tied to the district more quickly, which Registrar Cameron Sasnett said should help deal with the significantly higher number of absentee ballots cast in the larger county.
