NY-22 House Race May Not Be Decided When New Congress Convenes

With seven out of eight counties in New York’s 22nd District (Utica) completing their court-ordered recanvass of disputed votes Friday afternoon, there were ominous signs that a final count in the nation's last undecided House race may not be finished by the time the new Congress is sworn in January 3rd.

In this scenario, neither Republican former Rep. Claudia Tenney nor Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi would be seated. At that point, the House Administration Committee would almost surely commence a recount of its own and the seating of the eventual winner would be in the hands of the House’s slim Democratic majority.

Minus Oneida County, which has yet to complete its recanvass, the figures late Friday showed that Republican former Rep. Claudia Tenney increased her lead over Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi from 12 to 19 votes out of more than 325,000 cast.

Tenney’s gain came from Chenango County where 44 affidavit ballots were discovered by Board of Elections a month after the November election and two absentee ballots.

According to Board Member Carol Franklin, 25 votes were cast for Tenney, 17 for Brindisi, and four ballots left the line for Congress blank.

There were changes in two other counties: in Broome, where Brindisi picked up three votes and Tenney one, and in Oswego, where Tenney gained one vote.

So Oneida County, in which roughly 50 percent of the disputed ballots are being recounted, may easily provide the answer to who won New York-22.

As Oneida resumes its recanvass on Monday morning, Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte is expected to review the recanvassed results from the other seven counties.

Should Oneidas’ Board of Elections fail to submit recounted figures by Christmas, then the race will be in limbo for another week. The courtroom is closed from Christmas until New Year’s Day, leaving the judge one day to review the final count before Congress is sworn in.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.