NINE MORE VOTES COUNTED FOR TAGHKANIC
Carole Osterink
ccSCOOP Editor
12-09-09 - 2:30 p.m. - On Monday afternoon and again on Tuesday afternoon, absentee and affidavit ballots from Taghkanic that were challenged for reasons other than residency were considered in Judge Jonathan Nichols’ temporary courtroom at the Elks Club in Hudson. For the most part, these ballots had been challenged by the Democrats because of discrepancies between the voters' signatures on file at the Board of Elections and their signatures on the absentee ballot application and/or on the envelope containing the completed ballot. In all, fourteen ballots were considered over the course of two days. Judge Nichols sustained five of the challenges and overruled nine.
|
|
Deputy commissioners Hilary Hillman (center) and Kathy Harter (obscured) prepare to count the nine absentee ballots while John Ciampoli (left), Don Kline, and Virginia Martin look on.
|
One of the challenged ballots belonged to Kerri McConville, who appeared in court yesterday to testify to the legitimacy of her ballot. On November 17 when the absentee ballots from Taghkanic were initially reviewed, McConville's ballot had been "stipulated out." A notation on the unopened ballot envelope indicated that both the Democratics and the Republicans had objected to the ballot because the signature on the ballot did not match the signature on file at the Board of Elections. McConville, who is Betty Young's niece, was registered NOP—"no official party." Two weeks later, when the the Board of Elections released its spread sheet accounting for the decisions made about all absentee ballots, Walsh withdrew his objection to McConville's ballot. In court yesterday, the notation, which was made on the ballot envelope the night of the initial review, was called into question by attorney John Ciampoli because it had been made by attorney Karen Feldman, who was working that night as a Democratic election inspector. In the ballot review, it was Feldman's job to record the decisions of the attorneys and the commissioners on the ballot envelopes.
Taking the stand, McConville identifed all three signatures presented in evidence as her own, explaining that the signatures in question—the one on the ballot application and the one on the ballot envelope—were examples of a signature she uses when there is limited space in which to write. After hearing her testimony, Judge Nichols ordered her vote to be counted.
About an hour after court was adjourned, the nine ballots were counted at the Board of Elections. All nine votes went to the Republican candidates, so now, in the critical three races that will be decided by the absentee and affidavit ballots, the tally, according to our unofficial tabulations, is as follows:
SUPERVISOR
Betty Young (Republican) 335
Loretta Hoffman (Democrat) 255
TOWN COUNCIL
Thomas Kiely (Republican) 311
Larry Kadish (Democrat) 254
Erik Tyree (Republican) 315
Joyce Thompson (Democrat) 256
With 68 ballots still uncounted, according to our calculations, there is still the possibility that Democratic candidates for Town Council Larry Kadish and Joyce Thompson can overtake Republican candidates Thomas Kiely and Erik Tyree. The margins in those races are 57 (Kiely/Kadish) and 59 (Tyree/Thompson). With an advantage, according to our unofficial tabulation, of 80 votes, Republican Betty Young appears to have won reelection.
Previous ccSCOOP articles on the challenged ballot issue:
"The Case of the Challenged Ballots Moves to Appellate Court" - December 8, 2009
"The Ballot Battle Continues" - December 5, 2009
"The Issue Is Residency" - December 3, 2009
“Déjà Vu All Over Again” – November 30, 2009
"A Long Day at the BOE" - November 18, 2009
|
