Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) is raising eyebrows about the integrity of election systems in Virginia as he shadows his primary opponent, an effort that echoes the “Stop the Steal” movement.
He promised to seek a recount in the race, saying there should be a full accounting of “every legal vote.”
Good pointed to alleged “fires” in three precincts on primary election day and accused a county clerk’s office of having improperly started a voting process two hours earlier with his opponent’s representative present but without notifying his staff.
The Good campaign sent a legal letter about the voting process and Freedom of Information Act requests about the fire alarms on Friday.
The seeds of doubt about the election are the latest chapter in a contentious Republican civil war from a campaign that saw former President Trump, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many House Republicans endorse Good’s challenger. , former Navy SEAL and state senator John McGuire, who were widely seen as revenge. Good, chairman of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus, supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for speaker and was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy, throwing the House into chaos.
They are also an example of the electoral skepticism among conservatives that has prevailed since Trump and his allies refused to admit that President Biden fairly won the 2020 election.
State and local election officials in Virginia said there were no fires at polling places and signaled that fire alarms that sounded at those locations had minimal or no impact on election operations.
And a local election official dismissed the Good campaign’s concerns about a meeting that took place before the designated campaign time, saying it was a typical process. McGuire’s campaign was present because he called to check the meeting schedule, the official said, while Good’s campaign did not. It is clear, however, that the Good campaign believes that proper procedure was not followed.
Good trailed McGuire by just over 328 votes as of Friday night, according to Decision Desk HQ. McGuire declared victory in the race. Good called for ensuring a “fair and accurate count of all legal votes” and promised to conduct a recount, which he may request if less than a percentage point separates the two candidates.
“We will do a full recount. We will have a full investigation,” Good said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” on Thursday, saying he has “an enormous number of lawyers at our disposal.”
In a post on social platformGood said “fires” interrupted voting in three precincts on Election Day.
“We had 3 election day ‘fires’ in 3 districts, all requiring the districts to be evacuated for 20 minutes. Albemarle County, Hanover County and the City of Lynchburg. What is the probability? Does anyone remember a fire at a police station on election day? Good, he said. “The AI estimates the probability is 0.0000000318% chance.”
Election officials and spokespeople for the state of Virginia and these local jurisdictions emphasized that no voters were turned away at the three polling places that dealt with fire alarms on Election Day.
In Lynchburg, election officials said a police station on the Liberty University campus had to be evacuated for 15 minutes after a fire alarm went off and they were told it sounded due to the use of cleaning equipment. This location only served students who lived on campus and, as it was summer, only six votes were cast at the precinct.
An Albemarle County official said that, according to a fire rescue report, a water-damaged ceiling tile fell and set off an alarm, causing election workers to evacuate for 20 minutes.
And in Hanover County, a local official said the fire department determined that steam from a water heater caused the alarm, with a state official adding that 15 voters waited and voted when the precinct opened 30 minutes later.
The smoke alarm issue isn’t the only concern Good is raising.
On Bannon’s show, Good alleged that Albemarle County failed to adequately notify his campaign about an election process that began “two hours early” and that although a McGuire representative was present, his own campaign was not notified.
Bannon compared the situation to the “Stop the Steal” movement of 2020. “I’m worried about the election campaign and people should consider this as a test run” for November, he said. “The 2020 election was stolen and we will never have another stolen election again.”
Lauren Eddy, Albemarle County’s general registrar and elections director, told local radio station WINA and The Hill on Friday that Good was referring to a closed meeting on provisional ballots that began at noon, two hours earlier. of a public meeting at 2 p.m. Eddy said it is not normal practice for her office to notify campaigns directly about the provisional vote meeting, and that a representative from McGuire’s campaign called her office to find out the meeting time. Although ballots were processed, no votes were counted during the meeting, she said.
But the Good campaign evidently disagrees with the appropriateness of the meeting, with his campaign’s legal counsel sending a letter on Friday — obtained by The Hill — asking a litany of questions about provisional ballots being “reviewed in the absence of the campaign observer and outside the notice hours.”
A state of 2023 electoral department handbook instructs to “provide public notice of the date and time of the meeting and provisional vote” on the Friday before the election.
While Good raises complaints about the election process, McGuire’s campaign criticizes him for doing so.
“Instead of accepting his fate and the will of the people, Bob Good chose to undermine the integrity of Virginia voters,” Sean Brown, a spokesman for McGuire’s campaign, said in a statement. “His antics are now beneath the dignity of a soon-to-be-elected former official. Bob should put Virginia and our country first, let this process play out, and then congratulate John McGuire on a free and fair election victory.”
McGuire, in particular, participated in the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Capitol on January 6, but says he did not enter the building.
Good’s campaign is defending his actions.
“We are committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in what continues to be a very close race that will likely be in recount territory,” Diana Shores, senior adviser and manager of the Good campaign, said in a statement. “We believe the public should be informed about the incidents that occurred both on Election Day and in the voter canvassing process since then, and we will continue to educate them about the process.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
