Lunenburg County Electoral Board invalidates one provisional ballot, counts another

Chairman Donna Dagner called the Lunenburg County Electoral Board to order at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2021 to review two provisional ballots cast in the Nov. 2 general election.

The board reviewed the first provisional ballot submitted by Aaron Maxwell Martin of 1106 Washington Street in Victoria. Martin attempted to vote in Precinct 101, but poll book checks did not locate his registration in Lunenburg County. A subsequent search of state records showed Martin was registered in Danville City, Virginia. The board ruled his provisional ballot invalid and returned it unopened to the provisional envelope to be sent to the Clerk of the Court; Martin will be notified of the ruling.

The board then considered a provisional ballot submitted by Laura Lee Atkins of 4242 Falls Road, Victoria. Records indicated an absentee ballot had been mailed to Atkins and she did not have that absentee ballot to surrender; Atkins said she never received it. At the meeting the board determined Atkins had not returned a voted absentee ballot, deemed her provisional ballot valid, hand counted it, and added the result to the county’s total returns. The empty provisional ballot envelope was returned to the outer envelope for transmittal to the Clerk of the Court; Atkins will be notified that her vote was counted.

After the hand count the board entered those totals into the State database. The abstracts of votes were printed and signed by the Electoral Board members to certify the results. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

The actions taken were administrative determinations on provisional ballots and routine certification steps required after the general election; no further board votes or motions were recorded in the minutes.