Some races come down to absentee ballots

CHENANGO COUNTY – For more than a week, several candidates running for political office in Chenango County have been waiting to hear if they won or lost, and Wednesday, after counting all of the absentee ballots, the Chenango County Board of Elections had the answers for them.

At 10 a.m., political candidates and their family members joined elections officials and a couple of lawyers to witness the opening of all of the absentee ballots that were sent in over the last week. Three political races in the county were so close that absentee ballots played a role in the outcome, and in one case, a vast number of write-in votes needed to be counted.

The Democratic and Republican Commissioners, Carol Franklin and Harriet Jenkins, examined the sealed ballots as they arrived to ensure they had been postmarked no later then Nov. 5, and to make sure they had been correctly filled out and signed. A few of the ballots were determined to be invalid before they were opened due to the date they had been postmarked. Those who attended the reading of the absentee ballots were also given the chance to examine each sealed ballot and had the chance to challenge any if they found an adequate reason.

The first count of the day was for the race of Norwich City Supervisor for wards one, two and three. At the close of the polls, incumbent James McNeil (D) led his competitor Scott Sutton (I) by a margin of 42 votes. Wednesday’s count of the 89 absentee ballots and two affidavit ballots that were returned, showed McNeil to be the winner. Twelve of the ballots were not counted in the race for supervisor due to either the date they were postmarked, or in several cases, because the voter did not vote for either candidate. McNeil received the majority of the remaining 78 absentee ballots, taking 60 votes, while Sutton took the other 18. The preliminary total for the two offices shows McNeil as the winner with a total of 495 votes to Sutton’s 411.