Get local news delivered to your inbox!. Former Trump Communications Director Marc Lotter and "Hopium Chronicle" writer Simon Rosenberg analyze the pivotal first presidential debate. Peter Alexander sought the Republican nomination for Ward IV representative on Lynchburg City Council. Peter Alexander, who lost the June 18 Republican city council primary for Ward IV to incumbent Chris Faraldi, filed a lawsuit on Friday calling on the Lynchburg Circuit Court to declare the Republican primary invalid. Due to concerns over how a total of 125 absentee ballots were counted, the Alexander campaign wants the Ward IV Republican primary results thrown out and the winner of the primary determined by the Lynchburg Republican City Committee. Alexander s lawsuit states there has been no valid election of any person as the Republican nominee for the position of City Councilman from Ward IV in the City of Lynchburg. . Along with voiding the election results, his campaign asked Lynchburg Circuit Court to order that the selection of the Republican nominee for Ward IV follow a Virginia law that states if a nomination is set aside for any reason, the party may nominate to fill the vacancy in accordance with its own rules. . On June 24, Lynchburg election officials completed the vote count andcertified Faraldi as the winnerof the primary by a total of 33 votes over Alexander. In his lawsuit, Alexander argued that Virginia Department of Elections records do not show that the aforesaid 125 absentee ballots were ever processed or counted. . In a news release Monday, Alexander said he filed the lawsuit on Friday because it was the deadline for contesting the primary, and there were still unanswered questions about the handling of absentee ballots. . We owe it to the voters to make sure those questions are answered, and that is what we are going to do, he said. . . The lawsuit included an affidavit by Lynchburg Atlarge Councilman Martin Misjuns, who endorsed Alexander in the primary, that stated the race has a very slim margin of 33 votes, and accountability is missing on the status of as many as 125 ballots in the race. . Misjuns affidavit includes an attachment with the full names of the 125 voters whose absentee ballots in the June 18 Republican primary the Alexander campaign contends were not counted. A detailed audit of the election with a full manual recount may be the only way to ensure no voter has been disenfranchised, and that all properly cast ballots have been counted, he said. Misjuns revealed in the affidavit that he assisted the Alexander campaign with absentee ballot banking, which included performing mapping of absentee voter ballot targeting and tracking. Misjuns also said he performed the same ballot banking efforts for U.S. Rep. Bob Good in his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District and that the ballot banking efforts were closely coordinated between the two campaigns. On Monday, in response to the Alexander lawsuit, Lynchburg s General Registrar and Electoral Board said in a statement that they have an ongoing commitment to ensure that every legal vote counts and that they remain confident that every lawful vote was counted in the June 18, 2024 primary election held by each party. . The election officials said they stand ready to assist the Lynchburg Circuit in its adjudication of the complaint filed by the Alexander campaign. The Faraldi campaign said that how the absentee ballots were handled by elections officials did not affect the outcome of the election. This is an unserious challenge over a paperwork mistake that seeks to disenfranchise dozens of voters and lawfully cast ballots, the Faraldi campaign said in an email to The News  Advance. The June 18 primary also has come under scrutiny for how an absentee ballot drop box at the registrar s office in Lynchburg was left accessible to the public for two days after the election. The registrar s office described the decision to leave the drop box open to voters as a procedural error. Virginia law says ballotscannot be acceptedat drop boxes after 7 p.m. on the day of the election. Officials said they conducted an investigation into the drop box incident, but found no ballot envelopes had been cast in the drop box after the close of the primary election on June 18. The investigation was then followed by the certification of Faraldi as the winner of the Ward IV primary. In his lawsuit, Alexander asked for a threejudge special panel of the Lynchburg Circuit Court to hear evidence in the case and then order the Ward IV primary election results as void. Mark Hand, 4343855556. mhandnewsadvance.com. Get local news delivered to your inbox!. Reporter. . . Former Trump Communications Director Marc Lotter and "Hopium Chronicle" writer Simon Rosenberg analyze the pivotal first presidential debate. . Get uptotheminute news sent straight to your device.
Peter Alexander challenges the results of the Republican primary election for Ward IV in Lynchburg, alleging irregularities with the handling of 125 absentee ballots. The lawsuit aims to void the election results and have the winner determined by the Lynchburg Republican City Committee. Alexander's campaign argues that a full manual recount is necessary to ensure all valid votes are counted and to address concerns over the absentee ballots. The election officials maintain that every lawful vote was counted, while the Faraldi campaign dismisses the challenge as an attempt to disenfranchise voters over a paperwork mistake.