Several Thousand More Votes to Count; Can Biddle Still Win?
Biddle versus Orange not over: Sing? The fat lady hasn’t even gone on stage yet. (Luis Gomez Photos)
By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and let her know your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel[AT]borderstan.com.
It’s still undecided. Sekou Biddle trails incumbent Vincent Orange in the Tuesday vote for the Democratic nomination for At-Large DC Council seat by just 543 votes. But as noted on Wednesday, the race is not over.
In addition to at several thousand absentee ballots, there are also several thousand provisional ballots to be counted, according to WAMU — and a recount after the votes have all be counted is a real possibility. It will all be decided (barring a recount) when absentee and provisional (special ballots cast on election day) are tallied on April 13. The Washington City Paper reported Wednesday that there are more than 3,800 absentee ballots.
According to CBS DC, “The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics says 3,348 Democrats requested absentee ballots. So far, 1,554 have been returned. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday.
Given the dismal turnout (less than 16% of the populace turned out), any small edge or blurry edges between candidates becomes incredibly important. Biddle actually leads in five of the city’s eight wards — 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Orange, though, ran up larger margins in Wards 5, 7 and 8 over Biddle. In the Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods, Biddle ran very strong, with large wins in almost all are preincints.
Given the margin of victory here, it seems unlikely that any first ‘official’ decision will be deemed official by any of the candidates. I’m predicting a recount.
Like reading Borderstan’s Politics & Government stories? Get an RSS Feed for the P&G Section, or an RSS Feed for all Borderstan stories.
