Two Republican election officials in Waynesboro, Virginia, are refusing to certify the results of the upcoming November 5 presidential election unless ballots are hand-counted, according to a lawsuit they filed. The officials, Curtis G. Lilly II and Scott Mares, claim that voting machines could be secretly programmed to rig the outcome, asserting that tallying ballots by machine violates the state constitution’s prohibition on counting votes in secret.
Waynesboro, a small city in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, has a three-member Board of Elections. The two Republicans who filed the suit control the board, which could delay the certification of statewide results if they follow through on their refusal. The officials argue that the use of voting machines, in place for years, amounts to a hidden process where votes are counted out of sight, raising concerns over the integrity of the election.
“The board members have taken an oath to uphold the Virginia Constitution, and the Virginia Constitution prohibits the counting of ballots in secret, so the board members do not believe that any election decided by voting machine total in the City of Waynesboro can be certified as accurate,” the suit claims.
Lilly, chairman of the elections board, emphasized that using voting machines strips the process of transparency. “Yes, there are some that have blind faith in the machines,” Lilly said in an email. “And some that say Officers of Election already have enough to do, but this is the price of freedom!”
The lawsuit was filed on October 4 in Waynesboro Circuit Court and has drawn attention for its potential to affect election results across the state. A refusal to certify could create significant delays in declaring an official winner.
This lawsuit is part of a broader movement by Republicans across the U.S., inspired by President Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud in 2020. Hand-counting ballots has been pushed by similar groups in states like Nevada and Georgia, often leading to tension and legal battles.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has publicly maintained that Virginia’s voting system is secure. His spokesperson referred questions about the lawsuit to Attorney General Jason S. Miyares, who declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. However, Youngkin has emphasized that Virginia uses 100% paper ballots with a strict chain of custody, and that machines used to count votes are tested before every election and are not connected to the internet.
The lawsuit acknowledges the existing checks and balances within Virginia’s election system but claims that no one truly knows if machines are secure from manipulation. Lilly, a mechanical engineer, believes that the lack of transparency inside the machines prevents him from certifying the results. “I’m supposed to say, ‘Yeah, this was a fair election and this was the vote count,’ but I can’t verify that,” Lilly said.
While the suit does not accuse any party of election fraud, it reflects the broader climate of distrust surrounding U.S. elections, with proponents arguing for manual counts despite the potential for delays, costs, and inaccuracies.
