Politics & Government

UPDATED: Tom Rust Re-Elected as Herndon's Delegate

Just 56 votes separated the two candidates, according to precincts. No word yet on a possible recount.

UPDATE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6, 4:24 P.M.:

The Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs said late Wednesday that it could take until Saturday to canvas the remaining provisional ballots, though they will report those results earlier if they are able to.

Patch will keep in contact with the Office of Public Affairs and will report any updates as soon as possible.

There is still no comment from either the Rust or Boysko campaigns.

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UPDATE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6, 9:15 A.M.:

According to Fairfax County's Office of Public Affairs, there is a slight chance vote totals could change in the razor-thin gap between the two candidates in the race for Herndon's Delegate in the 86th District.

As of Tuesday night, Republican incumbent Tom Rust had 56 votes over first-time Democratic candidate Jennifer Boysko, with all precincts reporting.

Lisa Connors from the county told Patch Wednesday morning that total includes absentee ballots, but does not include provisional ballots.

Connors said that technically, voters have until Friday to present their identification to the office of elections if they failed to produce identification or a voter registration card at their polling place Tuesday and therefore were given a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is only counted if that identification is presented.

Connors said the office is currently canvassing the provisional ballots and may have an update by mid-day Wednesday. The office did not report how many provisional ballots were filled out in the district Tuesday.

As for recounts, the County said they are not automatic. An apparent losing candidate must request the recount, and can only do so if the difference in votes is less than 1 percent—which in this election, it is. The apparent losing candidate cannot formally request the recount until after the election is certified, however. 

So far, there has been no comment from either the Rust or Boysko campaigns on the matter.

Patch will update this story as soon as any new information becomes available.

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One almost couldn't take their eyes off the totals all night, as the lead bounced back and forth between the two candidates like a ball on a tennis court.

In the end, it appears a razor-thin 56 votes won the election for Republican and longtime Delegate Tom Rust, Herndon's Delegate to the 86th District.

The final unofficial total with 17 out of 17 precincts reporting were as follows:

TOM RUST: 10,383 (50.02%)

JENNIFER BOYSKO: 10,327 (49.75%)

Rust has held the 86th District's seat in the House of Delegates since 2002. 

Recently, Speaker of the House William Howell said, if re-elected, he would name Rust as the chair of the House Transportation Committee at the start of the 2014 session.

Rust currently serves on the Education committee, where he is the chair of the Higher Education subcommittee; the Transportation committee, where he is the chair of the Transportation Policy subcommittee; the Commerce and Labor committee, and on the Science and Technology committee, where he serves as vice chair.

Editor's Note: Patch will check in with the Fairfax County Electoral Board Wednesday as to whether there will be a recount, as the totals were so close. We will alert readers to that information as soon as possible.


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