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By MARY K. BLEWITT
Arundel Newspapers State Writer
The Virginia Board of Elections put its official seal on the Nov. 7 election results Monday, certifying Lt. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder as the next governor of Virginia and clearing the way for a state-financed vote recount.
Votes tallied by the board show Democrat Wilder defeating Republican J. Marshall Coleman by 6,854 votes. The margin of difference, just .38 percent of the 1.78 million Virginians that made their selection on election day, permits Coleman to request an election recount at the state’s expense.
Republican officials said Monday that Coleman planned to petition for an official recount, an option Coleman said he considers his responsibility to utilize.
“Ultimately, the election must turn on what’s best for Virginia,” said Coleman in a statement released after the official results were announced. “And the interests of the Commonwealth would not be wellserved if the next governor were under a cloud of doubt about the validity of the election.”
Members of the Republican party have strongly urged him to seek a recount, added Coleman.
“Most important, every Virginia voter deserves to know that his or her vote was counted and counted accurately.”
Wilder, too, responded to the results in a press statement, saying, “I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the people of Virginia for this high honor.”
A recount, said GOP officials, is likely to disclose any faulty voting machines or erroneous recording by election judges that would not be apparent in the official totals.
“It’s not sour grapes. It’s state law,” said Michael Salster, communication director for the Republican Party of Virginia, responding to those accusing Coleman of being a sore loser.
Procedures for a recount will be established by a three-judge panel headed by chief judge of the Richmond Circuit Court, Melvin R. Hughes Jr. The other two judges will be selected by the chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court.
While the Democratic Party of .Virginia did not dispute Coleman’s call for a recount, members were irate over the additional step taken by the GOPs.
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