We are now nine days past the election and the count continues for the 11th Senate District in Northeast Queens. Board of Election officials are busy counting inside a warehouse in Middle Village and the machine tally has brought the seven hundred-plus Padavan lead down to a mere 502 out of more than 82,000 ballots cast. Now it's time for a hand count of all the paper ballots, due in part to dysfunctional machines throughout the district.
From The NYT Cityroom:
I talked to a member of the Gennaro campaign last night and he was equally upbeat about the way things are going. With approximately 8,000 paper ballots to count, a 5,251 to 4,749 split or greater is all Jim Gennaro needs to oust Padavan from the seat he's held since 1972. It isn't a terrible hurdle to overcome and all eyes will be on the process as each ballot is examined. Expect many challenges from both sides and hopefully a decent level of attention paid by the press as well.In unofficial results, Mr. Padavan was leading his Democratic rival, City Councilman James F. Gennaro, by 723 votes. But Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, a spokeswoman for the city’s Board of Elections, said that there about 8,000 absentee and other paper ballots yet to be counted.
The board said the official count of the votes cast at machines could be completed as early as today. But it was uncertain how long it will take to count the various paper ballots; it could take days or much longer. Both candidates are entitled to oversee the process, the length of which depends on the degree of scrutiny — and objections — offered by either side.
“We’re incredibly optimistic about how the vote will play out,” said Evan Stavisky, a consultant working with the Gennaro campaign. “Every day for the last several years, this district has become more and more Democratic.”
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