Election's Integrity Upheld, Despite Glitches

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Recount in Red Bank Set for Nov. 20

By John Burton
Despite assertions to the contrary, Nov. 3’s election and the tabulation of votes have run as expected by and large, insisted County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon.
“The process itself is normal,” Hanlon told The Two River Times this week.
Each year has its own issues and recounts are far from unusual occurrences, Hanlon stressed. But this year there were a couple of events that caused controversy, she acknowledged. Those events concerned 15 provisional ballots, first rejected as invalid but later reinstated and counted; and there was an issue involving a private contractor’s employee inadvertently deleting vote-by mail results.
Laura Kirkpatrick, the county director of Public Information and Tourism, echoed Hanlon’s assertions, maintaining “At no time was the integrity of the election in question.”
This year there were some very close elections, with as of Wednesday three recounts for elections around Monmouth County. Wednesday was the last day participants could request a recount for this year’s election, which the county Board of Elections certified on Nov. 12, Hanlon said.
One is scheduled for the razor-thin margin of two votes in Red Bank.
In addition to Red Bank, recounts have been requested in Neptune City and Spring Lake Heights borough council races. In each of those cases, there is currently a one-vote difference between candidates, according to Hanlon.
There is another recount, for the Asbury Park Board of Education, as well, she added.
The Red Bank recount is to be done by the county Board of Elections, at 10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 20. And that may finally decide whether incumbent Democrat Michael DuPont returns for a fourth term to the borough council or Republican challenger Michael Whelan takes the seat and secures a GOP majority for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.
Last week, Monmouth County Democratic chairman Vin Gopal blamed the difficulties on “a lot of incompetence” on the county level.
Hanlon this week said she chalked up Gopal’s and others’ criticisms to “a lack of understanding” of the process – albeit an understandable one – on the part of even some journalists along with much of the public at large.
She stressed “The process itself is normal…We don’t have hanging chads,” referencing the infamous 2000 presidential election that dragged on and wound up in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna, a Democrat, and former law partner of Hanlon’s made references to chads in last week’s Two River Times, offering his criticism concerning what he saw as an antiquated voting process. The county regularly has close elections – last year the Eatontown’s mayor’s race came down to one vote, Hanlon pointed out. And despite the anxiety of those involved in such tight contests, “candidates have to wait until the election is certified,” by the county board before taking any additional steps, she explained.
County officials have 28 days from Election Day to certify the results; in this case that would make it a Dec. 1 deadline, Kirkpatrick explained.
County election officials took a little more than a week to do that, with officials having to evaluate 775 provisional ballots as well as the totals registered with the towns from the county’s 916 machines, Hanlon said.
Kirkpatrick said in Red Bank’s case there were 24 provisionals, ultimately 18 counted and six voided.
During the count, officials initially voided 15 provisional ballots believing them invalid; county officials on second thought, contacted the state Office of the Attorney General, getting a legal opinion that reinstated those voided ballots, Kirkpatrick and Hanlon explained.
The county board of elections, made up of two Republicans and two Democrats selected by respective county chairs and appointed by the governor, “really try to give voters the benefit of the doubt,” said Hanlon, who had in the past served on that board.
The other glitch arising this year involved Dominion Voting Systems, a Toronto, Canada, contractor which oversees the software and county-owned voting machines. According to Hanlon, a Dominion employee on site Election Night inadvertently deleted the vote-by-mail totals. There is a redundancy in the system that captured those totals and allowed them to be recorded.
Hanlon didn’t want to offer any additional comment about the incident. However, she did note that it is difficult to replace that company, because there are very few that can do it and that it would mean replacing the voting machines. “We’re talking millions of dollars,” she said.
Dominion did not respond to emails this week seeking comment. The company represents 19 of New Jersey counties, according to Hanlon.
The county clerk’s office is one of three overseeing elections and results, along with the superintendent of elections/commissioner of registration and board of elections. The clerk is responsible for preparing the ballots, processing vote-by-mail ballots and certifying results for the secretary of state.
On Friday’s Red Bank recount, Hanlon explained she would be an observer while the board reviews voting machine cartridge results and hand counts mail and provisional ballots to make a final determination.
Any disputes after that have to be addressed in state Superior Court, according to Hanlon.
Gov. Chris Christie named Hanlon as acting county clerk in April, following the retirement of M. Claire French, who had held the job for 18 years.
Hanlon, a Republican, was elected to a full five-year term on Nov. 3.