...the full text of which is provided below:
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Election board confirms Webb's victory
The State Board of Elections verified that James Webb won by 9,329 votes.
By Michael Sluss
(804) 697-1585
RICHMOND -- James Webb's election to the U.S. Senate became official on Monday when the State Board of Elections certified the results of the Democrat's narrow victory over Republican incumbent George Allen.
Webb defeated Allen by just 9,329 votes in the Nov. 7 election, in which 2.37 million Virginians cast ballots. Webb received 49.6 percent of the vote, Allen received 49.2 percent and independent Gail Parker got 1.1 percent.
Webb's victory is so slight that Allen could request a taxpayer-funded recount. But Allen dismissed that possibility on Nov. 9 after concluding that an initial canvass of votes by state election officials would not dramatically alter the results of a bitterly fought contest. In conceding to Webb, Allen said he saw no purpose in "continuously and needlessly expending money and causing any more personal animosity."
In a brief meeting Monday, the Board of Elections also certified the results of elections for the U.S. House of Representatives and three state constitutional amendments. The constitutional changes include a measure affirming the state's ban on same-sex marriages and civil unions. The marriage amendment was approved by 57 percent of the voters.
Election officials reported that 52.6 percent of the state's registered voters participated in the election. Despite pre-election concerns about voting equipment and brief post-election talk of a recount, the process went smoothly, said Board of Elections secretary Jean Jensen.
"We were under a microscope towards the very end," Jensen said. "When CNN said, 'Virginia is not Florida,' it was a good day."
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Victory; how sweet it was, is, and will be again . . .
Yes; thankfully, Virginia is not Florida.
Now, let's get back to work!!
Thanks!
Steve