BLACK RIVER, New York (WWNY) – They say every vote counts. Those words ring true in the race for Black River mayor.
Jefferson County Board of Elections officials tallied up the absentee ballots Monday morning. The result: 131 votes apiece for David Leonard and incumbent Francis Dishaw.
The caveat is that Dishaw ran a write-in campaign and five of those votes only had “Dishaw” written on them, with no first name. State election laws do not require a first name to be written. Now, it’s up to the board of elections to determine the intent of the vote.
“If you give us too little information, then you also – you can open potential avenues for confusion about how many people are named that,” said Jude Seymour, commissioner, Jefferson County Board of Elections.
The issue is that there is another Dishaw in Black River. It’s Frank’s older brother who did not run. Dishaw is hoping the board of elections counts those five votes.
“I’m thinking it still has a chance to go my way. We’ll see how everything turns out when the final decision is made,” he said.
Seymour says they are in touch with the state on how they would handle a potential tie.
Dishaw’s opponent, David Leonard declined to say whether the votes should count or not. Leonard says he knew it would be a close race and is prepared for another vote if necessary.
“If it does come to a tie, and it does come to an election run-off, we’ll be back out on the streets conveying our message, what we want to see in the village of Black River,” he said.
Seymour is emphasizing that these results are unofficial. He says they need to cross their T’s and dot their I’s with a race this close. But the board of elections does plan on declaring a winner by the end of the month.
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