It’s official… for now; Dems win

The suspense is over – Democrats James Kownacki and Stephen Brame have won re-election to Township Council over Republican Party challengers Max Ramos and Glenn Collins

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The suspense is over — Democrats James Kownacki and Stephen Brame have won re-election to Township Council over Republican Party challengers Max Ramos and Glenn Collins in an election that was too close to call on election night.
   But Mr. Ramos and Mr. Collins are considering seeking a re-check of the mail-in ballots that helped to propel the Democratic incumbent councilmen back into office, said Rick Miller, the Lawrence Township Republican Municipal Committee chairman.
   The deadline to file is Nov. 20.
   When all of the votes were tallied — those cast on election day, combined with the mail-in ballots and the provisional ballots — Mr. Brame was the top vote-getter with 4,363 votes and Mr. Kownacki received 4,282. Mr. Ramos got 4,248 votes, which is 34 votes fewer than Mr. Kownacki. Mr. Collins trailed with 4,209.
   If the votes cast at the polling booths Nov. 5 alone were counted, Mr. Ramos would have been the top vote-getter with 4,003 votes and Mr. Brame would have placed second with 3,973 votes. Mr. Collins would have received 3,963 and Mr. Kownacki would have placed last with 3,899 votes.
   Mr. Brame and Mr. Kownacki received 15 provisional ballots and 16 provisional ballots respectively. Mr. Ramos received 12 provisional ballots and Mr. Collins got 13 provisional ballots. They are cast by registered voters for many reasons, such as a name change or a move from one election district to another.
   This means that without the mail-in ballots, Mr. Ramos would have continued to be the top vote-getter with 4,015 votes and Mr. Brame would have placed second with 3,988 votes. Mr. Collins would have received 3,976 votes and Mr. Kownacki would have gotten 3,915 votes.
   But the two Democratic Party candidates — Mr. Brame and Mr. Kownacki — received 375 mail-in ballots and 367 mail-in ballots, respectively. Mr. Ramos and Mr. Collins, the Republican Party candidates, each received 233 mail-in ballots. Formerly known as absentee ballots, mail-in ballots are cast in advance of an election.
   It appears that the 375 and 367 mail-in ballots pushed Mr. Brame and Mr. Kownacki back onto Township Council, allowing them to edge past Mr. Ramos and Mr. Collins when all of the votes were counted.
   At issue, Mr. Miller said, are those 300-plus mail-in votes the Democratic incumbents received.
   ”The numbers are suspect,” Mr. Miller said.
   The number of provisional ballots and the votes cast at the ballot box that the four candidates received were “basically even,” but the mail-in ballots were skewed heavily toward the Democrats, he said.
   Mr. Miller said 31 mail-in ballots were not counted. Of those mail-in ballots, five were rejected because the signature on the mail-in ballot did not match the one on file in the voter signature book. But sometimes a person’s signature changes over time, he said, noting that a voter may have signed the book 20 years ago.
   Of the remaining mail-in ballots, two were tossed because they were not received in time, five were thrown out because the certificate was not signed and 17 were rejected for “other reasons,” which is not specified.
   A disproportionate number of ballots were rejected for “other reasons,” Mr. Miller said, adding that “I would like to know the reason why” those 17 ballots were thrown out.