ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Election officials began counting about 200 mail-in ballots at 1 p.m. Friday, which could play a central role in a tight race for Roanoke’s mayoral seat. These ballots, which arrived before the deadline of Friday noon under Virginia lawwere to be processed with the results published late Friday afternoon.

These mail-in ballots are crucial in a race that stayed incredibly close early Friday afternoon, with Vice Mayor Joe Cobb trailing former Mayor David Bowers by just 11 votes. But as counting continued Friday evening, Cobb led Bowers 14,897 votes to 14,851, still too close to call, with counting expected to resume next week.

While officials initially reported that about 408 mail-in ballots had yet to be returned, half of them, or about 200, arrived on time, ensuring that Friday’s count could change the outcome .

Bowers told WDBJ7’s Patsy Montesinos in a phone call that it reminded him of the last time he ran for mayor and was in the lead, but then lost. He said it was “fishy” then and now. He said he had no proof, but people were coming to him with concerns. Asked if he lacked confidence in the electoral process or had given up on calling himself an elected mayor, Bowers had no comment.

Cobb released the following statement as the count began:

Since tonight’s voter register update for the mayoral election, we are currently ahead in the unofficial vote count. This latest update includes mail-in or mail-in ballots counted this week. I would like to thank Clerk Nicholas Ocampo and his team for their diligent work in continuing the certification process of this election.

While hundreds of ballots have yet to be counted, I want to emphasize the importance of counting every vote accurately.

Although today’s vote count indicates a slight lead, I want to remind everyone that the election results are not yet final and will not be final until all votes have been counted and the election will not be certified by the electoral board on November 15.

I support the certification process and continue to ask that we all do the same with patience and understanding.

Regardless of the outcome, I will respect the voters’ decision and continue to work hard for the citizens of Roanoke..

Three members of the Roanoke Board of Elections verify voter information, according to election officials. Once they verify a voter’s eligibility, the ballot is placed in the voting machine to be scanned.

The law grants media limited access to the process. WDBJ7’s Patsy Montesinos was the only reporter in the room. Media are allowed to film some aspects of the process, but not the actual retrieval of ballots from envelopes. Two election observers were also present in the room.

Although Friday’s count will provide a clearer picture of the election, provisional ballots from verified voters won’t be processed until next week. These results could also have an impact on the final result.

The Roanoke Recorder’s Office sent this statement as the count began:

More than 40,000 Roanoke residents voted in the general and special elections on November 5, 2024. This includes the 1,223 voters who cast provisional ballots during the in-person voting period and on Election Day.

A provisional ballot is offered to a voter when further research is needed to confirm their eligibility to vote. Same-day registration, an interim process, was adopted in 2022 to provide individuals with the ability to register to vote and vote on the same day.

This process requires additional steps to verify each voter’s eligibility to vote in the polling location where their ballot was cast. Our office will continue to carefully and meticulously follow state election laws and guidelines to review each same-day registration application in preparation for our Election Commission’s decision next week.

The next batch of results to be reported will be representative of mail-in ballots cast on Election Day at each of our polling locations and mail-in ballots postmarked on or before November 5 and received by mail by the deadline. 12 p.m. state today, November 8. These vote totals will be posted online this evening.

Although these practices take more time, they are necessary to protect the integrity and security of our elections. Thank you for your patience as we continue to count. This year’s elections prove that every vote counts.

Local election boards across the Commonwealth have until Friday, November 15 to certify the election results. I am confident that Roanoke City will meet this deadline.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.