LIVINGSTON COUNTY — A penmanship error led to the miscount of absentee ballots for the Livingston County Republican District Attorney primary race.
With all candidates and their lawyers present during last week’s absentee ballot count the Avon district was marked down with 6 votes for Eric Schiener. When the totals were tallied the board of elections thought that the number was a a 5 with a circle around it.
The ballot count now stands at:
ERIC SCHIENER: 1,880
STEVE SESSLER: 1,779
Supreme court justice John Ark heard both sides of arguments in court Wenesday on the 6 remaining absentee ballots.
If the judge’s ruling leads to a tie then Livingston County Republican Committee votes on the matter. During their earlier caucus the Republican Committee voted with over 90 percent in support of Eric Schiener.
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.