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A count of the Asbury Park provisional ballots from last week’s Nov. 3 election shows newcomer Sheila Etienne has won a seat on the Board of Education, according to Monmouth County spokeswoman Laura Kirkpatrick.

Etienne moved five votes ahead of incumbent Barbara Lesinski who held the seat by nine votes prior to the counting of the provisional ballots.

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.

Asbury Park had a total of 64 provisional ballots – 17 were voided and 47 were added to count.

The 17 ballots were discounted for varying reasons, including not being a registered voter, being registered to vote in a different town, and additionally filing a vote-by-mail ballot that was received, Kirkpatrick said. In the end, 101 votes were cast on the provisional ballots.

The count now shows the top three listed names on the voting ballot received the most votes.

Kenneth E. Saunders, current Vice President Christian Hall and Etienne ran as a team. They were opposed by former Board of Education member Angela Ahbez-Anderson, Lesinski and former Asbury Park School District educator Peter Cheney. Abez-Anderson won a seat as top vote-getter, while Hall lost his seat.

There are over 700 Monmouth County provisional ballots being vetted. Kirkpatrick said the Assembly counts are expected by day’s end.

The unofficial results prior to this morning’s provisional count included mail-in ballots. Below is a breakdown of those votes, updated figures with the provisional votes and the difference, per the county clerk’s office:

Angela Anderson                              673                        687                         14

Kenneth E. Saunders, Jr.                656                         676                         20

Sheila Etienne                                   630                         655                         25

Barbara Lesinski                               639                         650                        11

Christian Hall                                     614                        636                         22

Peter J. Cheney                                  591                        600                          9

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