Essex County DA count to continue

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November 12, 2009

By LOHR McKINSTRY The Press Republican Thu Nov 12, 2009, 08:56 PM EST

ELIZABETHTOWN — Thursday’s absentee-ballot count in Essex County slowed to a crawl following a legal motion by District Attorney-elect Kristy Sprague in State Supreme Court.

Sprague faced incumbent DA Julie Garcia in the election, winning by 75 votes on Election Day, 6,053 to 5,978.

Sprague picked up another 63 votes in Thursday’s count, while Garcia got 61.

SLOW GOING

Sprague wanted copies of one-time absentee ballot envelopes and applications, but her counsel, Paul DerOhannesian II, agreed that counting of permanent absentee ballots could begin while copies were made.

After six hours of counting, with attorneys for Sprague and Garcia examining each ballot and envelope, the County Board of Elections had reached the Town of Minerva and counted 124 of 266 permanent absentee ballots.

Once the permanent absentees are counted, 573 one-time absentee ballots remain to be counted, probably sometime next week.

The deadline is Monday, but State Supreme Court Justice Robert Muller signed an order granting the county more time.

HUNDREDS RETURNED

Essex County sent out 1,169 absentee ballots, and 858 had been returned by the deadline.

Of those, 266 were permanent absentee ballots, used by disabled voters and others who vote absentee in every election. The rest are one-time absentee ballots, used by voters who are going to be out of town on Election Day.

Affidavit ballots are used when someone who is not listed in voter-registration records goes to a poll to vote.

DELAYED START

The count had been scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Thursday but was delayed until after 11 while attorneys for the candidates conferenced outside the Essex County Supreme Court courtroom.

Appearing before Muller, DerOhannesian said they had agreed to begin the count of permanent absentee, emergency and affidavit ballots, which would be made available to lawyers for both candidates during the count.

Garcia was represented by attorney James Long, while County Attorney Daniel Manning III represented the Board of Elections.

COUNT BEGINS

The count was held in the county’s former modular jail, located behind the county complex in Elizabethtown. The building is now used by the County Board of Elections for storage.

When the process began, Sprague, DerOhannesian, Long and Manning sat at a table in front of Democratic County Election Commissioner David Mace and Acting Republican Commissioner Patti Doyle.

DerOhannesian and Long scrutinized every ballot as the commissioners counted them, often asking questions and making notes. They physically examined each ballot application and envelope.

The first ballot challenged was from Crown Point.

“I’m going to chop this one,” DerOhannesian said. “It’s an application for the Nov. 8 general election.”

The election was Nov. 3.

Both commissioners said they would have counted the ballot, but under the court order, ballots challenged by either DerOhannesian or Long were laid aside.

Mace began filing challenged ballots into a large envelope for final determination by Muller. By the end of the day, though, only three had been challenged.

COUNTER-SUIT

Long filed a counter-suit challenging Sprague’s right to challenge absentee-ballot applications on the grounds that she was not a registered voter in Essex County at the time of the election. Although Sprague said she moved from Clinton County to Essex County just before Election Day, she was not yet eligible to vote in that county.

In a second hearing early Thursday evening, Muller said he would rule later on Garcia’s motion but that Sprague and her lawyer could have the copies.

“Whether there’s some legal issue that would prevent you from doing something with what you find will be determined by me,” Muller said.

He asked how the count was proceeding.

“Slowly, without major problems,” DerOhannesian answered.

OTHER RACES

In two other races that the absentee count could affect, all candidates stayed about even.

In Essex, Supervisor-elect Sharon Boisen had won by 14 votes over incumbent Ronald Jackson, 153-139.

The count Thursday gave Boisen two additional votes and Jackson three more. Forty-two more absentee ballots remain.

In Crown Point, Supervisor-elect Bethany Kosmider had defeated incumbent Dale French by 44 votes, 354 to 308.

In the limited absentee count, Kosmider picked up seven votes and French, eight. Thirty additional absentee ballots are left.

The ballot count will resume at 8 this morning .

E-mail Lohr McKinstry at:

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com