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Testimony in the Asbury Park election lawsuit before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Dennis O’Brien begins Monday.

The lawsuit, filed by unsuccessful A-Team candidate Remond Palmer and Arva M. Council [shown above], seeks to have 343 vote-by-mail [VBM] ballots that were disqualified by the Monmouth County Board of Elections counted into the record. Palmer ran for mayor and Council for the board of education.

The ballots were disqualified after members of the opposing Asbury Together ticket submitted over 300 challenges to VBM ballot applications in the election, calling into question whether A-Team candidates and campaign volunteers properly handled messenger ballot applications.

But Palmer and Council contend their campaign organized an effort to boost voter turnout which included providing VBM applications and assisting voters with completing the application if needed. The A-Team also provided voters with the option of having the campaign return VBM applications to the County Clerk and having messengers bring voters their ballots.

And while the Board of Elections disqualified ballots on the grounds that all those who assisted a voter in filling out the VBM application were not disclosed on the form, Palmer and Council maintain that the required disclosure was made. The lawsuit also alleges voters were not given proper notice to contest the board’s actions before their ballots were disqualified.

Both Monmouth County and local officials are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Last month, Judge O’Brien agreed to hear testimony from 230 voters in the trial.

Should the A-Team candidates prevail in opening the ballots and enough of the votes are cast for Palmer, it would mean a run-off election for the mayoral seat. Asbury Together’s John Moor defeated Palmer by a 1,401 to 728 win in the official returns. Under the city’s new form of government, a mayoral candidate must win with over 50 percent of the vote or a run-off election is held between the two highest vote-getters. In November, Moor received 54 percent of the votes while Palmer garnered 28 percent.

In the board of education race, if the ballots are counted and enough votes go to the A-Team’s Council then Board of Education member Carol B. Jones would be unseated. In November, Jones received 1,035 votes to Council’s 784.

Moor, who was served the lawsuit on the  day he was sworn into office, confirmed Wednesday night that the trial is slated to begin Monday.

Judge O’Brien denied the request of Palmer and Council to postpone the January 1 swearing-in of Moor and Jones.

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