New York State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte today issued his final ruling in the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District, directing Oneida County and the New York State Board of Elections to certify Claudia Tenney, Republican and former congresswoman, as the winner of the 2020 congressional race. After an exhaustive 94-day legal process, Claudia prevailed by 109 votes over incumbent Anthony Brindisi, to win the final seat in the House of Representatives.
Claudia Tenney said:
“I’m honored to have won this race. It was a hard-fought campaign and I thank Anthony Brindisi for his service. Now that every legal vote has been counted, it’s time for the results to be certified. The voters need a voice in Congress, and I look forward to getting to work on behalf of New York’s 22nd Congressional District.”
Brindisi issued this lengthy statement:
I am shocked and surprised by this decision because of the countless errors and discrepancies that have occurred throughout this initial count. I believe a full audit and hand recount is the only way to resolve this race. With the margin so thin, the ever changing tally, and the countless errors that have occurred arriving at today’s final number we can’t afford to wonder here. We have to get it right. Because this is not a raffle, this is a congressional election. The law that took effect January 1 says we should abide by hand counts whenever the margin is 0.5% or less— it’s even closer right now. Let’s follow that rule, get this right for our constituents and count all the 325,000-plus votes. It’s shocking, right now, no one knows who actually won this race. My opponent and I deserve true clarity.
After countless errors and attempted remedies, the initial count was completed. The race is within 109 votes or .04 percent. With a seesawing margin, both campaigns and the court have expressed frustration with errors made by the County Boards of Elections during the initial canvass and re-canvasses. The New York Daily News editorial board called for a hand audit as well.
A New York State law, enacted for elections starting in 2021, requires a hand recount if the margin is less than .5 percent. A separate, existing statute provides that the court may order a hand audit when “there is a likelihood of a material discrepancy between” the results of a hand tally and the results of a voting machine tabulation, which “creates a substantial possibility” that the discrepancies may have impacted the apparent outcome of the election.
In addition to well reported errors across nearly every county, evidence before the court highlights an error rate from the Oneida County machine count versus hand count of .8 percent. Across all ballots cast, that same error rate could mean an error on nearly 2600 ballots.
Rep. Brindisi remains committed to ensuring an accurate result to the contest.
