Error Reverses Outcome of Virginia OTB Vote

An error in the reporting of election results reversed the outcome of an off-track betting referendum in Virginia, officials said Nov. 4.

On Nov. 3, the voter registrar in Greene County, near Charlottesville, learned of an error that occurred when vote tallies for a Virginia constitutional amendment were transposed with the results for the OTB referendum. The initial results (3653 in favor vs. 2481 against) were corrected to reflect that the referendum was defeated (3532 against vs. 2840 in favor).

The Greene County OTB parlor was expected to produce $25 million a year in handle, generate $152,000 in local tax revenue, and create 55 jobs. Colonial Downs officials offered little comment Nov. 4 but did say they are looking into the election results to see what occurred.

Three of five OTB referendums around the state were approved. Voters in Scott County (near Bristol), Henry County (near Martinsville), and Westmoreland County (Northern Neck) approved the measures by healthy margins.

The OTB referendum in the northern Virginia town of Manassas Park failed by a larger margin that initially reported (2076 against vs. 1164 in favor). Initial unofficial reports indicated the effort failed by 84 votes.