OSWEGO, NY - A state judge has ordered elections officials to preserve records showing how they calculated the results of an extremely close congressional race in Central New York, after Herkimer and Madison counties reported errors or changes in vote tallies over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Republican challenger Claudia Tenney said Monday she has taken a slim lead over Democratic incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi in the 22nd Congressional District race. The Tenney campaign said an update from the Herkimer County Board of Elections corrected an earlier tabulation error.
After each of the eight county boards of election reported new vote totals Monday afternoon, Tenney moved back ahead of Brindisi by an unofficial count of 155,492 to 155,480. State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte had ordered each county in the district to submit a final tally of all ballots by 4:00 p.m. Monday.
“We are encouraged that local elections officials have corrected their early tabulations and we are now ahead. Our campaign is committed to seeing that all – and only – legal votes count. The voters’ will must be respected and the integrity of the election process maintained. We are confident Claudia will emerge the winner when all is said and done,” says Tenney campaign spokesman Sean Kennedy.
“The margin in this race is incredibly close and continues to change. The integrity of the election and maintaining a count that ensures the voters of this district are heard is of the utmost importance. As this process continues to play out, we are hopeful that once the counting process is completed, Anthony will be declared the winner, said Luke Jackson, Brindisi campaign spokesman.
The winner won’t be determined until DelConte rules next week on challenges to more than 2,000 disputed absentee and affidavit ballots.
Here is a break down by county.
Broome County
Brindisi: 50,713
Tenney: 36,595
Cortland County
Brindisi: 11,079
Tenney: 9,551
Herkimer County
Brindisi: 10,130
Tenney: 13,687
Madison County
Brindisi: 15,671
Tenney: 17,045
Oneida County
Brindisi: 48,479
Tenney: 50,075
Oswego County
Brindisi: 7,431
Tenney: 13,597
Tioga County
Brindisi: 2,689
Tenney: 3,056
Chenango County
Brindisi: 9,288
Tenney: 11,886
These results are still unofficial.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.