OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford
Election results go up as Dunkirk Republicans gather at the Exempt Firemen’s club Tuesday.
There are seven election races in Chautauqua County that are either being reviewed because of how close they were or haven’t been finalized due to the number of absentee ballots out.
On Wednesday, county Republican Election Commissioner Brian Abram said the races that have not been finalized are the Dunkirk city mayor, County Legislative District 1, Ellington Town Council member, Dunkirk Town Council member, Cassadaga trustee, Ripley highway superintendent and Celoron trustee.
According to Abram, anytime there are 20 votes in a race that separates a winning candidate versus a losing candidate, a review is required.
In the Dunkirk mayoral race Democrat Kate Wdowiasz received 1,221 votes, while David Damico received 1,164 votes, a 57 vote margin difference. However in that race, Abram said there are 134 absentee ballots that have yet to be returned.
Absentee ballots must have been postmarked by Nov. 7 and received by Nov. 20 in order to be counted.
Abram said there are also affidavit ballots that need to be examined as well. He was uncertain during the interview Wednesday morning how many affidavit ballots there were in this race. Affidavit ballots are used when an individual believes he or she is registered to vote, but the Board of Elections does not have that person in their books. The affidavit ballot is cast and set aside, to be reviewed following the election.
For Legislative District 1, which includes part of the city of Dunkirk, Republican Kevin Muldowney received 721 votes, while Democrat Marcus Buchanan received 711 votes, a 10-vote difference. Abram said in that race, there are 126 absentee ballots that have yet to be returned. Even if Buchanan were to win the race, the Republicans would still maintain a super-majority in the county legislature, because there are 14 other Republicans who won their legislative district Tuesday.
For the two seats on the Dunkirk Town Council, there is a 19-vote between second and third place. Sherri Miller received 168 votes, Jean Crane received 166 votes, and G. Jay Bishop received 147 votes. Abram said there are 22 absentee ballots in that race that have not been returned.
For the two seats on the Ellington Town Council, there is a three-vote difference between second and third place. Bradley Griffith received 182 votes, David Brainard received 167 votes, Loren Kent received 164 votes, and Jeffrey Chase received 112 votes. Abram said there are five absentee ballots that have yet been returned.
For the Ripley Highway Superintendent, there is a two-vote difference between the two candidates. Jason Jones received 343 votes and James Spacht received 341 votes. Abram said there are 10 absentee ballots that have yet to be returned.
For the two Cassadaga trustee seats, there is a 17 vote-difference between second and third place. Cathleen Cruver received 108 votes, William Astry received 95 votes and Sean Seibert received 78 votes. There are five absentee ballots that have yet to be returned. Even though the Cassadaga race can’t flip on absentee ballots alone, Abram said because there’s less than 20 votes that separate two candidates that race gets reviewed.
In Celoron, there was a blank spot listed for one village trustee. Abram said 17 write-in ballots were submitted. The names were not read as of the time of the interview. Abram said since there’s only 17 votes cast, that race would automatically trigger a review, being that there’s less than a 20 vote difference.
Abram said all absentee ballots will be counted on Nov. 20. He suspects all races will be settled on that day.
VOTER TURNOUT
While the final totals haven’t been calculated yet, Abram said it appears voter turnout will be less than 30% this year. There were no state or federal offices on the ballot in Chautauqua County.
Before the election, county Democratic Election Commissioner Luz Torres predicted 37% turnout. Abram said he wasn’t expecting it quite that high, but he thought the low 30s was reasonable.
Instead, before absentee ballots are returned, voter turnout is around 28%.
“Local years used to be in the high 30s. This year was not a good one,” he said.
Typically Abram said the presidential races draw 72-75% voter turnout, and the gubernatorial races have 50-55% turnout.
Neither Abram nor Torres had any explanation on why fewer voters are coming to the polls.
“We really don’t know. The weather was decent. There were two newbies coming in Dunkirk for the mayor’s spot which should have buzzed people. In Jamestown there were a lot races there. We can’t really say (why there’s poor turnout),” Abram said.
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