Control of County Legislature still undecided

When the dust settled at the end of Election Day on Nov. 8 and all of the electronic votes were tallied, the control of the Nassau County Legislature still hung in the balance, as the races in the 14th District and the 18th District remained too close to call.

Three weeks later, the fate of the Legislature had gained a little more clarity, according to William Biamonte, the Democratic commissioner for the Nassau County Board of Elections.

In the 18th District, Democrat Delia DeRiggi-Whitton had overtaken her Republican challenger, Robert Germino Jr., by a 29-vote margin. The 18th District encompasses Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, Bayville, Locust Valley, Brookville, Glen Head, Greenvale and Jericho.

After Election Day, Germino held a 37-vote lead, but according to Biamonte, about 500 paper ballots, which include absentee ballots, affidavits and emergency ballots, still needed to be counted. The change represented a 66-vote turnaround for DeRiggi-Whitton. “It was a tremendous turnaround,” said Biamonte. “That usually doesn’t happen in a recount.”

However, there are still 148 votes that have been challenged in the race that still need to be counted, said Biamonte. These votes have not yet been included in the final tally.

According to Biamonte, votes can be challenged by either party for many reasons, which include checking to see if the voter is properly registered, whether the application was properly signed and whether the ballot was received in a timely manner. “There are any number of different pitfalls that you could challenge paper ballots on,” said Biamonte.

The challenged votes will need to be reviewed by a judge, Biamonte said, so each ballot can be individually ruled on to determine its validity.

Meanwhile, in the 14th District, Republican incumbent Joseph Belisi widened his lead over Democratic challenger Ava Pearson. He held an 85-vote lead, extending the 51-vote lead he held after the electronic votes were counted. However, 111 paper votes are being challenged in the race.

The 14th District includes parts of Massapequa, Seaford, Wantagh, Levittown, Old Bethpage, Bethpage, Plainedge and Farmingdale.