Election Update

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.