Springfield's 2012 election remains a work in progress.
A week after election day, Union County Board of Elections Deputy Administrator Joanne Arena said her office is still in process of getting it all together.
Arena said they have 102 provisional ballots so far. Of them, 63 have been accepted and 39 have been rejected. She said that they were still waiting for provisional ballots from other counties to roll in and estimated that there would be between 150 and 175 in total.
Those ballots are currently sealed in envelopes that will be opened and counted on Monday, Nov. 19 at the Board of Elections office in Elizabeth.
That does not include the ballots sent in to the county by fax or email, which Arena said have not yet been counted.
There's no way to predict the results of the votes, particularly with regards to the Springfield municipal race. While people who voted remotely could not vote directly in their local elections, they were allowed to write in candidates' names. That assumes a knowledge of local races officials and election watchers doubt is widespread.
The Springfield election was very close and the late-counted ballots are expected to be a deciding factor. With 3173 David Barnett garnered the most absentee and regular polling place votes. At 3141 and 3129, respectively, only 12 votes separate incumbent Republican Jerry Fernandez from Democratic challenger Margaret Bandrowski.
The County Clerk's office said the votes are currently set to be certified on Nov. 21, but that the certification may be pushed back.
If even 1 springfield resident gets sick because of of the switch to Madison about to take place I hope the people responsible can live with themselves. They refused to listen to reason or the public until after it was too late. I am proud to say im an independent & vote both ways depending on the people and issues. I never stick with 1 party forever.
Further, if we had given Madison a "probationary" period, what would happen if we tried to opt out mid-year? Would we be able to find another Department of Health to pick us up mid-year, would this even be legal?
ps all the way to westfield was all of 10 minutes and Megan opened up her office for people who couldnt make the flu clinics which were scheduled in town.
You are right on 1 issue though I am not a lawyer so I dont know what the laws are regarding opt outs. I just found it hypocritical that the BOH would put in an opt out against many peoples wishes with Westfield whom we worked with for about a doezn years but refuse to put one in under any new contract especially when entering into a new business arrangment with a town we have zero history with in Madison.