In the days since the Nov. 4 general election, Chris Yakabouski has tried to stay busy.
The Battlefield District representative on the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors did all he could not to dwell on election night results, which left the incumbent just 24 votes ahead of challenger Baron Braswell with 123 votes still outstanding.
“I stayed busy doing stuff I was supposed to be doing during election season,” Yakabouski said with a laugh.
Yakabouski can now exhale.
With all ballots counted, he leads Braswell by 16 votes. According to the Virginia Department of Elections website, Yakabouski finished with 3,913 votes compared to 3,897 for Braswell. Out of the 123 outstanding votes — including 74 provisional and 49 post-election ballots — Braswell earned 65 to Yakabouski’s 57, not enough to make up the 24-vote gap.
“I’m truly humbled that the voters of the Battlefield District have decided to entrust me as their representative for another four years,” Yakabouski said Monday. “It was a hard-fought race and obviously much closer than anyone would want. But I’m still looking forward to the next four years of fighting on behalf of my constituents.”
Braswell, however, isn’t done fighting for the Battlefield seat. He said Monday that he is planning to petition for a recount, since the margin is so close.
Braswell called Yakabouski to inform him of his intentions, and Yakabouski didn’t object. They both agreed that a recount is the proper way to give voters in their district confidence that the race was conducted fairly.
“He understood. He said if it were him, he would do the same thing,” Braswell said. “We had a good conversation. I told him, ‘It’s really in both our best interests that I do that.’ One, we want to make sure that every vote counts. If I didn’t do that, people would be saying, ‘Did he really win?’ If he’s going to win, he’s got to have a victory that was fully adjudicated … I want to make sure that the voters get a clear verdict one way or the other so we can let those that we choose do the work that they’re supposed to.”
Braswell said he visited the court clerk on Monday and was informed that he has 10 business days from Friday to file a petition for a recount. The recount, said Yakabouski, “is an avenue that’s out there and it’s legal and it’s part of the process.”
After a tense week of waiting for the final votes, Yakabouski said he’s ready to get to work.
“I’ll let the process play out, but as of right now I’m going to continue serving the people of my district and whatever the final tally on their decision is, I’ll stand by that,” Yakabouski said. “Hopefully, it’ll stay as it is, and I’ll continue to be their representative.”
