Appellate court also orders hand recount of another ’20 commissioner race where margin was 381 votes
By David Wildstein, June 29 2021 9:58 am
A state appellate court has ordered a special election to fill an Atlantic County Commissioner seat that has been vacant since January after a significant ballot snafu left the results of the November 2020 general election in limbo.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Marczyk cancelled the results of the November general election after the county clerk, Ed McGettigan, failed to mail the correct ballots to 554 voters in an election that was decided by 286 votes.
In a separate matter, the appellate court also reversed Marczyk’s ruling denying an expanded hand recount to Celeste Fernandez, who had lost a 2020 race for county commissioner by just 381 votes out of more than 120,000 ballots cast against Republican John Risley.
Marczyk also blocked Thelma Witherspoon, the Democrat who defeated Egg Harbor Township Committeeman Andrew Parker in the District 3 county commissioner race, from taking office when the board reorganized in January.
The special election, originally set for April 20, was called off after Parker appealed the ruling.
With an appellate court affirmation of his ruling, Marczyk must now schedule a special election.
It’s not immediately clear if the election will be held concurrently with the November general election, or before that. It’s a complicated matter since vote-by-mail ballots for November are set to be mailed in late September.
Parker is already on the ballot this year as a candidate for re-election to the township committee and Republicans have to decide if they’ll allow him to run for dual offices. Candidates may run for two offices in the same election but may only serve in one.
Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez must also schedule a recount of the Risley vs. Fernandez race. He had previously ruled that a sampling of ballots, rather than a full recount, was sufficient.
Fernandez is also on the ballot this year as a candidate for county commissioner against interim Republican incumbent Frank X. Balles.
If Fernandez were to win the recount, Democrats would need to pick a replacement candidate to run against Balles in the November 2021 general election. Spread the news.
