The ballots from Chenango County were cast through the state’s early voting days within the 22nd Congressional District — home to the ultra-tight race between Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi and his Republican opponent Claudia Tenney.
As of Monday — which was assumed to have been the last day for election officials to report vote totals in the district — Tenney led the freshman Democrat by a razor-thin 12-vote edge.
Chenango County Attorney Alan Gordon notified Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte of the findings on Tuesday.
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“Those ballots were apparently mislaid and never counted,” Gordon wrote. “I am looking for direction from the Court on how to proceed with the canvassing of these additional ballots.”
“I have advised our Board of Elections to not open any of those ballots and to secure them in their offices,” he said.
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Of the 55 ballots, 11 appear to be from unregistered voters.
The other 44 could shift Tenney’s lead, but DelConte must however rule on over 2,000 other disputed absentee and affidavit ballots in the race.
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The Brindisi-Tenney contest has been a seesawing affair, with the Republican jumping to an almost 29,000 vote advantage on election night — only to see that advantage evaporate as mail-in ballots were counted.
If the ballots are allowed to be counted and they modify the outcome of the election, it would be another blow to House Democrats who, notwithstanding keeping their majority, lost about a dozen seats to Republicans.
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Then last week, Brindisi appeared to grab a double-digit lead, though his small advantage was erased over the weekend after two counties said they had made tabulation errors.
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The race has been extremely tight, with both candidates declaring a lead within the past week. Initial, unofficial results bestowed Tenney winning the election, however, Brindisi appeared to outdo her last week. On Monday, Tenney's campaign said she had taken a 25 vote lead after a "tabulation error" had been corrected.
The New York Supreme Court is assumed to rule on challenges that have been made on these ballots this week.
Carol Franklin, Chenango County Elections Commissioner, explained that she had no idea why the votes weren't counted.
“My guess is they came in early and they were put aside and mislaid,” said Franklin. "I would hope that we could open them tomorrow with representatives present from each campaign.”
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