Oleszek To Seek Recount Against Cuccinelli

Democratic challenger Janet Oleszek, who lost to Republican incumbent state senator Ken Cuccinelli by 92 votes in the election last week, has announced her intention to seek a recount.

Good luck. Recent history suggests that Oleszek has little chance of making up the vote deficit. No more than a handful of votes changed in the statewide contest for attorney general in 2005 after a rigorous recount, and a recount in a Fairfax County senate contest in 1999 changed the margin of victory by only two votes.

One reason changes are small in Virginia recounts is that county election boards automatically re-canvass their votes immediately following the election, which catches any big mistakes (and there are often some major changes made at that point). Once that re-canvass is completed, another recount rarely catches anything of note.

We can understand the temptation to ask for recount in such a close race, but we think former U.S. Senator George Allen set the right precedent last year when he opted to forego a recount in an election that swung the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

It's Oleszek's option, but given the way Virginia reliably reports its votes we think she'd be better off going the gracious route. She fought a good battle, but time to move on.