Posted: November 21, 2008

Disputes in New York state senate race parallel those in OH-15 race

Control of the New York state senate rests on the outcome of a race that has come down to disputed ballots. The Democratic candidate trails the Republican candidate by about 500 votes. At issue are affidavit ballots, similar to provisional ballots, which voters who are registered elsewhere are required to use to attest to having moved into the district where they are now voting. In some cases, these paper affidavit ballots failed to include the voter’s prior address. In other cases, the voter neglected to check one of several boxes indicating a change of address. The ballots have been deemed ineligible by a Republican official who contributed to the campaign of the Republican candidate that her decision now favors. Others allege that ballots with such formal defects have always been counted in the past. One observer alleged that Republican observers were challenging ballots because of the voters’ Asian or Hispanic last names. Such disputed ballots will be reviewed by a judge at the end of counting.