Bulletin: Asbury Park BOE election tally changes
OAG finds additional provisional ballots are eligible
Asbury Park provisional ballot counts from the Nov. 3 election have changed.
The new totals show newcomer Sheila Etienne with a 6 vote lead over incumbent Barbara Lesinski.
Etienne picked up the extra vote after Board of Election officials included 13 previously discarded provisional ballots to the tally late Monday afternoon.
Provisional ballots are for a voter whose eligibility to vote is unclear. If the Monmouth County Board of Elections determines a voter is eligible, their provisional ballot is opened.
“Each of the provisional ballots were cast by Monmouth County voters who voted provisionally in towns in which they were not registered on Nov. 3, 2015,” a written statement from the Board of Elections said. “The voters were registered in other Monmouth County towns.”
Asbury Park had 64 provisional ballots – initially 17 were voided but by day’s end 13 additional ballots were deemed eligible.
“The Board of Elections has consulted with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General [OAG],” the written statement said. “The OAG has determined that the ballots should be accepted and cast in each of the voter’s current town of residence.
The new totals do not change the unseating of former Board president Barbara Lesinski, who has said she will challenge the count.
Lesinski ran on a ticket with former Board of Education member Angela Ahbez-Anderson and former Asbury Park School District educator Peter Cheney. They were challenged by Etienne, Kenneth E. Saunders and current BOE vice president Christian Hall, who also lost his seat.
Voters chose Etienne and Saunders and opted to split the ticket Anderson from the other slate.
The acceptance of the ballots changed previously released counts to the following:
Angela Anderson 688
Kenneth E. Saunders, Jr. 680
Sheila Etienne 657
Barbara Lesinski 651
Christian Hall 640
Peter J. Cheney 601
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