The race for a Ward 5 city council seat in Atlantic City is now over after a judge denied a bid by Republican Maria Lacca to recount the November 2023 general election ballots.
The Democratic incumbent, Muhammad “Anjum” Zia, was re-elected by 46 votes, 508-462, a margin of 52.4% to 47.6%.
But Superior Court Judge Michael Blee said Lacca was unable to demonstrate evidence that there were any mistakes in the vote tally.
This was the second time the Ward 5 race went to court.
On Election Day, two voters alleged that they were coerced into filling out a vote-by-mail ballot delivered by a messenger they didn’t know, and one of the voters alleges that they were pressured to vote against a candidate they didn’t want. They didn’t identify their preferred candidate. Superior Court Judge Stanley Bergman, Jr. ordered the mail-in ballot –and a subsequent provisional ballot.
Zia had been sworn in earlier this month.
Blee is expected to rule next month on a challenge to the June 2023 Democratic primary in Atlantic City, where Viana Bailey is challenging her six-vote loss to incumbent LaToya Dunston.