District Attorney race

Schiener gains one vote as DA candidates wait for court decision

Supreme Court Justice John Ark holds the future of the Livingston County District Attorney’s Race in his hands.

Judge Ark heard arguments this morning from Republican candidates Eric Schiener and Steve Sessler today concerning seven absentee ballots which were improperly filed. Schiener and Sessler finished the primary election with a reported tie of 1,879 votes each. Ark is supposed to render a decision soon — with a Oct. 5 deadline looming for mailing out general election absentee ballots.

Following this morning’s court hearing, Livingston County Attorney David Morris revealed that absentee votes in two Avon districts were miscounted yielding an extra vote for Schiener.

Schiener told The County News that Districts 2 and 4 gave six votes to Schiener, but they were logged as a “hash mark” grouping with six marks. When the votes were totaled up, officials counted the group as five, not six votes.

“We’re carefully considering this late development and examining the legitimacy of this claim,” Steve Sessler told Facebook followers today.

Schiener’s total with the extra vote would be 1,880 to Sessler’s 1,879 — an advantage that could be erased by Judge Ark’s decision.