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Know your rights! Youth justice and juvenile law answers.

Askthejudge.info features regular updates from the news, important decisions from the nation′s courts, and online discussions with Judge Tom. Find out everything you need to know about youth rights, juvenile law and juvenile justice. AsktheJudge – Empowering youth one question at a time.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this site is made available to the general public and is not intended to serve as legal advice.You should consult a trained legal professional in your area for questions you may have about the laws affecting juveniles or any legal interpretations.

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December 20, 2017
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“Every Vote Matters” a reality in Virginia election

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Judge Tom and Natalie Jacobs’s book titled “Every Vote Matters” that was published in 2016 became a reality in December, 2017. An election in Virginia on November 18, 2017 led to a recount with the results announced the next month.

In the 400-year history of Virginia’s House of Delegates, there has never been an even split between the parties in control of the State House. A recount of the ballots resulted in a final tally of 11,608 to 11,607 in favor of the Democratic challenger for one seat. This led to a 50-50 split in the governing body, as decided on December 19, 2017.

The challenger to the Republican seat was Shelley Simonds, a school board member from Newport News, Virginia. She commented after the results were announced that “It was a beautiful thing to see democracy in action. “The subtitle of “Every Vote Matters” is “The Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court.” Once again, reality shows that just one vote can change history.

Update: On December 20, 2017 a Virginia court declared the election a tie, discounting one vote. This means another method of selecting the winner will be used, possible by lot or drawing a name from a box. On January 4, 2018, the winner’s name was selected from a bowl: the incumbent, David Yancey, was the winner.

Register to vote where you live and get to the polls on election day!!! It’s vital to a thriving democracy.

Photo by Jen Russo (Flickr)

 

 

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The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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