With all provisional and same-day votes counted, Democrat Joe Cobb has won the Roanoke mayoral election by 59 votes.
Late on election night last week, Republican David Bowers was in the lead by just 19 votes. But as provisional and same-day ballots were counted throughout the week, Cobb slowly took the lead.
Tuesday night, he was ahead by 69 votes, and though Bowers gained 10 votes on him today, he is still in the lead after all ballots have been counted. He beat Bowers by 0.15% of the vote.
The vote totals on the State Board of Elections site came to 15,221 votes for Cobb and 15,162 votes for Bowers.
Stephanie Moon Reynolds, who ran as an independent, received about 25% of the vote.
The vote may not be certified until Friday, which is the commonwealth deadline for each locality. There is the possibility of a recount because of the close margin of Cobb’s win. Because the margin of difference is within the 0.5% range, Bowers can request a free recount.
“This small margin of victory proves that in an election every single vote matters, and every single valid vote must be counted,” Cobb said in a statement sent out on Wednesday evening. “I continue to ask for patience and understanding as these final steps are taken, and will support and stand by the outcome, regardless of the final tally.”
Bowers also released a statement Wednesday, stating, “Election Day should be Election Day!”
“The current process, taking a week to figure out, does nothing but instill suspicion and doubt among voters in the integrity and surety of our elections,” his statement reads. “I will consult with my legal team of Mel Williams, Aaron Houchens and Charlie Nave before making any other comment.”
Nicholas Ocampo, director of elections and general registrar, explained the purpose of provisional ballots in a statement earlier this week, stating they are offered to voters when “further research is required to confirm their eligibility to vote.”
“This year’s election is evidence that every vote counts,” he said. Same-day registration was enacted in 2022 in Virginia.
Ocampo was not able to be reached immediately Wednesday night.
Wednesday morning after election night last week, Bowers held a press conference and repeatedly referred to himself as mayor-elect — even though there were still over 1,200 provisional and same-day ballots to count.
“I’m accepting the results right now,” he said when asked about the possibility of the tides turning after all the votes were counted. He would not further comment, claiming he was under advisory by legal counsel not to.
