Judge rejects recount in Roselle contest decided by three votes

A Superior Court Judge has denied a recount in a Democratic primary for Roselle Borough Council that was decided by just three votes because the defeated candidate didn’t come forward with evidence of any vote-counting mistakes.

In that primary, incumbent Denise Wilkerson edged out Cynthia Johnson, 1,496 to 1,493, a difference of one-tenth of one percent.

“Our Legislature has seen fit not to allow for recounts based upon the numerical ‘closeness’ of an election result,” Judge John Deitch said in his ruling. “Instead, it has passed legislation which has been interpreted as requiring the candidate to come forward with ‘sufficient competent, credible evidence showing there is reason to believe an error was made in the tabulation of the votes.’”

He said Johnson has not met that criterion.

“Although the slight numerical difference between candidates would seem to be a sufficient basis for a recount to any reasonable lay observer, it is insufficient for the court to order a recount on the proofs before the court, given the precedent the court must apply and the absence of any proofs on the issue of miscounting votes,” Deitch said.

Instead, Deitch simply ordered a recheck of machine tallies.

In Ship Bottom, where a Republican primary for borough council was not as close, Superior Court Judge Robert Brenner ordered a recount.

In that contest, former school board member William Fenimore defeated Councilman Tom Tallon by 10 votes, 127 to 117, a difference of 2.6%.