District Attorney Race
DA race a toss up as contested ballots head for court
Don’t let anyone ever tell you a single vote won’t make a difference.
Livingston County District Attorney candidates Eric Schiener and Steve Sessler are feeling the power of an individual voter as the Board of Elections report a tie of 1,879 votes after opening absentee ballots yesterday from the Sept. 13 Republican primary.
The winner could be decided by a New York Supreme Court judge who must decide whether or not to count any of six remaining absentee ballots. Two arrived with their internal envelope unsealed, one voter may or may not be eligible, one had a late postmark, and others had “extraneous marks” not permitted by state law.
These irregularities could disqualify those ballots and tip the balance according to Livingston County Republican Election Commissioner Nancy L. Leven.
She says a judge on the Seventh District Supreme Court will decide which of the ballots are good. If the outcome remains a tie, the law provides for a “game of chance” to break the tie. In 2007, Republican Robert Schramm won a West Sparta Town Council seat over Democrat Dominic Cosimano after drawing a card from a deck.
