New York State Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte has ruled that more than 1,700 ballots that were not originally reviewed to determine if they are valid in the NY-22 Congressional District race, must now be canvassed.
The judge blamed the eight district boards of election for not following state election law, which led to the mishaps.
Herkimer County challenged ballots will need to be properly marked as such with ink instead of sticky notes.
The Brindisi for Congress campaign issued the following statement regarding the ongoing ballot count, “This decision is a win for the people of the 22nd District. As I’ve said all along, the voters of this community deserve to have their voices heard. This margin is too small and the stakes too high to rush to judgment. We owe it to voters, our democracy, and each other to let this process move forward without attacking each other, promoting conspiracy theories, or fanning the flames of division.”
“As this process continues to play out, I hope everyone, including those who did not vote for me, and my opponent will do what is best for our country and protect the integrity of our election. I am hopeful that I will come out on top and be able to continue to work with both parties and stand up to anyone on behalf of all of New York’s 22nd district,” Brindisi stated.
Tenney campaign spokesman Sean Kennedy said, “Today’s decision affirmatively rejected Brindisi’s attempt to have only votes favorable to his campaign counted. It appears that this ruling will see to it that every legal vote is counted. If the proper legal procedures are followed, we are confident that we will prevail and Claudia will assume office as the Congresswoman for New York’s 22nd District.”
Tenney had challenged the 132 votes in Madison County, which the Judge ruled should be canvassed according to the law. For Brindisi, DelConte questioned why the campaign had chosen to ask that certain errors be fixed and not others.