Democrat Barred From Taking Seat in Va. House

Democrat Charniele Herring, the certified victor in Tuesday's special election in the Alexandria area, was blocked from taking a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates yesterday, and Republican leaders said she would be barred from joining the body until a recount is completed.

Herring, a lawyer who brought her mother to Richmond for a swearing-in ceremony that never occurred, said she would return to the House daily so that constituents in the 46th District would at least have eyes on, if not a voice in, the body's deliberations.

The state Board of Elections ruled early yesterday that Herring had defeated Republican candidate Joe Murray by 16 votes. Murray requested a recount, and an Alexandria judge took initial steps to get one underway.

Democratic leaders in Alexandria said they wanted the recount to be completed today, arguing that any delays would rob citizens of representation in Richmond.

But Edward Semonian Jr., clerk of Alexandria's Circuit Court, said such a schedule was improbable. "Nothing's impossible, but I think that's highly doubtful. It's not going to happen that quickly," Semonian said.

The unexpected outcome -- with Murray coming tantalizingly close to toppling the Democratic standard-bearer in staunchly blue Alexandria -- was just the type of narrative that Northern Virginia's battered Republicans had been craving after President-elect Barack Obama captured the state's 13 electoral votes in November.

Two factors made them savor the results all the more. First, the GOP's would-be conqueror is a charismatic 33-year-old law student whose day job is handling legislative correspondence for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). And second, the seat in question was until just last month held by a high-profile Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Brian Moran.

"I don't think that the makeup of the district changes overnight," conceded Gerry Scimeca, communications director of the Republican Party of Virginia. But the race's outcome had symbolic value nonetheless, he said.

"It reflects the fact that Republicans are energized, given the last election. It would have been very easy to just dismiss this as another certain loss. They didn't," Scimeca said. "This was an old-fashioned, grass-roots alley scrap, and we did pretty darn good, given the district."

Susan Kellom, Alexandria's Democratic Committee chairman, sought to puncture any broader message. "It's an anomaly," she said.

Kellom had warned throughout the month-long dash to the election that low-turnout contests could be volatile. Fewer than 6 percent of the district's voters showed up Tuesday.

"Come back and talk to us in November. Our Democratic incumbent will have prevailed in a telling way," Kellom said. Whoever is seated will have to run again for a full term.

And as for what went wrong, Kellom said: "I'm not going to say flub. They did outdo us on absentee ballots.

"In terms of the time frame and everything else, Charniele did a good job getting out the vote. . . . It happened on my watch. It's my responsibility and my fault."

The drama in Richmond yesterday began shortly after Alexandria's GOP chairman informed state Republican leaders that Murray would petition for a recount.

"There are enough question marks that the election does in fact hang in the balance," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem).

Democrats argued that the margin of the election should not matter and that any certified victor should be seated. The motion to seat Herring in the Republican-controlled House lost by a vote of 41 to 54.

"If this doesn't fly in the face of the Constitution, I don't know what does," said House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), his voice rising.

Herring sat quietly in a guest seat as she listened to the debate.

"There was a vote. I was certified by the State Board of Elections. It was a valid certification. I should be seated," Herring told reporters later.

Alexandria Republicans said a dozen absentee ballots had not been counted because of problems with the way required oaths on the envelopes were filled in, and they pointed to other possible issues.

Jim Lay, Herring's lawyer, said he is confident that any recount would "confirm and amplify the results as they have been reported."

If Herring is seated, Republicans will still have a six-person majority in the House.