Call it a case of bad initial judgment. John O. Jacoby Jr. on Monday was awarded the victory in a close election for a Lewiston Town Board seat, and the reason has everything to do with the letter between “John” and “Jacoby.” State Supreme Court Justice Frank A. Sedita III ordered the counting of ballots from 43 Lewiston voters who filled in the “O” in Jacoby’s name, instead of the oval for voting on their paper ballots. The computerized scanner that counts Niagara County votes missed those 43 votes because they are programmed to register marks in the oval. The scanner did count 21 ballots for Jacoby on which the voter filled in both the oval and the O. Acting Republican Election Commissioner Michael P. Carney sought to disallow those 21 votes because of the double marking, but Sedita refused.
New York Democrats remove state’s top elections official | Bill Mahoney/Politico
Douglas Kellner, a long-serving advocate for election integrity and transparency in New York, was been ousted as co-chair of the state Board of Elections. Kellner, who oversaw transformative changes in New York’s elections during his 18 year tenure, had been critical of the ES&S ExpressVote XL, which was certified by the .board earlier this year. The move to replace him with Henry Berger comes as the board gears up for a significant role in launching a public campaign financing system next year. Critics argue that the change is untimely, particularly in the run-up to the crucial 2024 vote. Read Article