UPDATE: Fifth District race still tight

Updated 3:21 p.m.
The Fifth Congressional District race between Democrat Tom Perriello and Rep. Virgil Goode remains too close to call.

Perriello began today with a 31-vote lead, and by 3 p.m. it had widened to 834 votes.

The new numbers came in as several county electoral boards canvassed the returns they had reported Tuesday night. 

More than 316,000 votes were cast in the race.

Several more counties still have not reported results of their canvasses.

The state Board of Elections will not certify the results until Nov. 24. 

Only then could the losing candidate request a recount, and only if the margin of victory is less than one percentage point.

-Ray Reed

Updated 1:35 p.m.

Perriello’s lead has increased to 53 votes, according to the State Board of Elections’ website.

Perriello - 157,460

Goode - 157, 407

More votes may soon be added to Perriello’s tally, according to numbers posted on the blog of Charlottesville Electoral Board Chairman Rick Sincere.

Sincere wrote that Wednesday’s vote canvass in Charlottesville found that Perriello had received 15,754 votes on Tuesday and Goode received 3,715.

The State Board of Elections has not yet updated its Charlottesville tally with the changes, showing the city with 15,089 votes for Perriello and 3,592 for Goode.

If accurate, Charlottesville’s count would add 665 votes for Perriello and 123 votes for Goode, handing Perriello a net gain of 542. 

-WSLS

Updated 12:20 p.m.
The State Board of Elections’ latest count, as of shortly after noon, has Tom Perriello leading Virgil Goode by 52 votes - 157,457 to Goode’s 157,405.

Goode lost 20 votes due to an error in the Twin Springs precinct. Provisional ballots are still being counted, and additional canvassing is going on.

See how the story progressed throughout the day Wednesday.

The wire-thin lead in Virginia’s 5th District congressional race bounced around like a pinball Tuesday, as Rep. Virgil Goode and Democrat Tom Perriello waited out a canvass of the votes.

Both candidates claimed victory, but news organizations said the race was too close to call. In fact, it was tight enough to potentially become the last undecided congressional race in the nation this year.

Both candidates alternately trailed and led the race Wednesday as the State Board of Elections periodically updated vote totals from the district’s 22 counties and cities.

Perriello had the lead by 2,000 votes in the wee hours of Wednesday, but Goode overtook him by midmorning and led by 446 votes after the final precinct reported from Lunenburg County.

Goode all but declared victory, saying in a telephone news conference that he was confident the canvasses wouldn’t change the results as each of the district’s 22 local electoral boards reviewed Tuesday’s results.

He was wrong, at least for one day.

Perriello moved back into the lead, first by six votes, then by 31 in the evening. The totals stood at 157,456 votes to Goode’s 157,425.

Results of canvasses could take until sometime today to be confirmed.

Unlike in most election years, more provisional ballots were cast by voters whose registration status was in doubt Tuesday.

As electoral boards held their required canvasses Wednesday, they investigated and confirmed some of the registrations and ballots.

Perriello spokeswoman Jessica Barba said, “We’re confident we came out on top, but we can’t pop the champagne just yet.”

Goode said, “This is a tight election and we are pleased to be ahead. We are optimistic that when every valid vote is counted, we will prevail.”

Goode, 61, of Rocky Mount, is seeking his seventh term in Congress.

Perriello, 34, a native of Albemarle County, is a political newcomer. But he raised $1.5 million for the race, matching Goode’s total.

The fundraising resulted in a heavy round of attack TV ads from both candidates, particularly in the final two weeks of the race.