A Bronx judge today ordered all mail ballots and precinct tally sheets from the disputed 13th Congressional District primary to preserved and photocopied.
The Board of Elections is beginning to count 2,000 absentee and mail votes today, in the razor-thin race between incumbent US Rep. Charles Rangel and challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice John Carter ordered the preservation of all voting material until any recount or objections by Espaillat, who trails by a mere 802 votes for the hotly contested Democratic nomination, are settled. Ordinarily, tally sheets and mail votes would be destroyed after they’re counted.
Carter immediately disclosed to both sides: “I live in the district and vote.”
The judge didn’t reveal who he supported and neither side objected to him being on the case.
Carter urged both sides to hash out their differences outside a courtroom before the next scheduled hearing on Wednesday.
Espaillat’s lawyer Leo Glickman said he has evidence of voters being improperly denied a ballot at their precincts.
“We have identified many instances where people were turned away from the polls and treated with hostile conduct by the poll workers,” Glickman said.
Lawyers for both the city and Rangel said they’ve seen no proof of such bad acts.
“They made serious allegations of fraud when there’s no evidence of fraud,” said Rangel’s lawyer Arthur Grieg.
Additional reporting by David K. Li