LIVINGSTON COUNTY — The Livingston County Republican primary contest will be settled in Rochester Supreme Court. The hearing to decide the matter is set for Wendesday September 26th, before New York State Supreme Court Justice John Ark.
The vote tally currently sits at an exact tie, with 1,879 votes each for Eric Schiener and Steve Sessler. Absentee ballots were counted on Wednesday, September 19th (see High Drama in Republican primary).
The judge will be ruling on the admissibility of what are now 6 absentee ballots. After Wednesday’s official counting session, 2 more have been added. The two additional ballotts arrived partially opened.
The disputed ballots:
Ballot 1: Has whiteout in the box for Schiener and is marked for Sessler. The ballot is properly marked for Nojay in the State Assembly race.
Ballot 2: The “X” is not in the Sessler box but is just below it. The mark for the State Assembly box is under Burke’s box as well. Neither are in the properly defined area.
Ballot 3: There are two markings under Sessler, one in the box, and another under his name. It also has similar markings for Burke in the State Assembly race.
Ballot 4: The unopened ballot was cast by a poll inspector and is dated September 13, 2012. The law states that to be valid an absentee ballot must be postmarked the day prior to the election.
Ballots 5 and 6: Both ballots arrived partially opened, therefore they were set aside for a ruling by a judge. No further details are available.