The rematch between Republican Claudia Tenney and U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi will slog on in a central New York courtroom this week because the Democratic incumbent urges a choose to open extra ballots, whereas Ms. Tenney asks to be licensed because the winner—by 12 votes.
Ms. Tenney was forward by 28,000 votes when in-person voting ended on Nov. 3, however Mr. Brindisi gained appreciable floor as election officers within the eight-county district counted an unprecedented variety of paper absentee ballots.
Within the days earlier than Thanksgiving, Mr. Brindisi was forward by 13 votes. Then one of many counties rechecked its math, and Ms. Tenney recaptured the lead. And final week, almost a month after Election Day, officers in rural Chenango County mentioned they’d discovered 55 new unopened ballots.
The competition for New York’s 22nd District—certainly one of simply two within the nation the place no winner has been declared—may take extra weeks to resolve, and it’s attainable that State Supreme Courtroom Justice Scott DelConte may order a full recount, which neither candidate is in search of.
Already, the election has highlighted deficiencies in New York’s electoral procedures and let Ms. Tenney, who has a historical past of constructing incendiary remarks, advance conservative claims about voting irregularities. The Republican received a seat within the Home in 2016 however misplaced a re-election bid to Mr. Brindisi in 2018.
In appearances on cable tv in latest weeks, Ms. Tenney mentioned adjustments to state legislation that relaxed the necessities to vote by absentee poll created a nasty state of affairs.
“It’s been an administrative nightmare,” she mentioned Thursday on Fox Information’ “ Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “I feel it’s laborious to say particularly if there was deliberate fraud—however there’s undoubtedly fraud that might occur due to this simply untenable state of affairs for these boards.”
Researchers have discovered cases of absentee voter fraud, however research present it isn’t widespread. Wealthy Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, defended the state’s new election protocols. He mentioned the state additionally supplied county boards additional personnel to depend ballots.
“I do know her complete profession was fueled by bear-hugging nutty Trumpian conspiracy theories, however let’s attempt some information for a change,” Mr. Azzopardi mentioned.
Officers in every of the district’s eight counties opened greater than 60,000 absentee and affidavit ballots, which are sometimes solid by individuals who don’t seem in voter rolls at their ballot web site. Representatives from each campaigns watched the counting, and specific procedures for figuring out poll validity and lodging objections have been set out in a courtroom order.
However courtroom filings by legal professionals for each candidates allege cases the place the procedures weren’t adopted. Absentee ballots have been to be opened and counted even when one of many campaigns objected, however in some circumstances officers didn’t file which candidate acquired the vote or whether or not it had been counted, the courtroom filings say.
In Oneida County, officers made notations on sticky notes somewhat than instantly on the envelope enclosing the poll, they mentioned final month throughout a listening to. A number of the notes then fell off. The Brindisi marketing campaign is asking to open greater than 400 affidavit ballots that have been invalidated by that county’s election commissioners, in addition to the 55 ballots discovered by officers in Chenango County.
These ballots are a part of a pool of roughly 1,500—neither marketing campaign has an actual determine—disputed votes sitting earlier than Choose DelConte. Mr. Brindisi’s marketing campaign requested the choose to order election officers to repair their record-keeping errors and let the courtroom decide whether or not particular person ballots must be opened.
“The margin on this race is extremely shut and continues to alter,” mentioned Brindisi marketing campaign spokesman Luke Jackson. “The integrity of the election and sustaining a depend that ensures the voters of this district are heard is of the utmost significance. As this course of continues to play out, we’re hopeful that when the counting course of is accomplished, Anthony shall be declared the winner.”
Ms. Tenney’s legal professionals mentioned in courtroom papers that the Brindisi marketing campaign ought to have ensured procedures have been adopted in recording its objections and that it will likely be nearly not possible to find out whether or not sure ballots have already been counted. Additionally they mentioned additional counting poses a public-health threat, and questioned the provenance of the 55 Chenango County ballots.
“The late discovery of those affidavit ballots raises severe questions on their chain of custody, in addition to the Respondent county Board of Elections’ poll accountability practices,” the Tenney marketing campaign mentioned.
THE QUESTION: Whereas each Mr. Brindisi and Ms. Tenney have represented the Utica space in Congress at completely different occasions, they overlapped as members of which governmental physique?
THE LAST ANSWER: Along with former New York Metropolis Mayor David Dinkins, Harlem’s “Gang of 4” included former U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, former State Sen. Basil Paterson and former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton.
