Updated: Three Atlantic County freeholder races still too close to call

Editor’s note: this story was updated at 4:08 PM  to include additional votes counted on Sunday afternoon in the freeholder-at-large race. 

Three seats on the Atlantic County Board of Freeholders remain too close to call with most of the ballots counted and just a handful of votes separating the candidates.

For two incumbent at-large freeholders, Democrat Caren Fitzpatrick and  Republican John Risley with 67,111 and 66,111 votes, respectively.  Democrat Celeste Fernandez (65,637) trails Risley by 474 votes, while Republican James Toto is running in fourth place with 64,251

In the controversial District 3 freeholder race, Democrat Thelma Witherspoon had a narrow 278-vote lead over Republican Andrew Parker.

A massive snafu by County Clerk Ed McGettigan led to 554 voters in Hamilton Township not receiving the correct ballot, the two candidates are just 16 votes apart.

One week ago, Witherspoon’s margin was 16 votes.

That caused the Republican county chairman, Keith Davis, to call for McGettigan’ s resignation.

It will be up to a judge to decide if the entire election will be invalidated and a special election calls.

The two are seeking the open seat of Democrat Ashley Bennett, who declined to seek re-election to a second term in order to run for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd district.

If there is a special election, Atlantic County Democrats can fill Bennett’s seat temporarily on January 1 since they were the previous holders.