BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AND ROBERT POZARYCKI — UPDATED Nov. 15, 9:45 p.m.
Robert Holden’s razor-thin lead over two-term incumbent City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley remained after the city Board of Elections counted paper ballots (absentee and affidavit ballots) in the too-close-to-call 30th Council District race on Wednesday.
Once the count wrapped up at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, according to sources familiar with the situation, Holden’s 133-vote lead over Crowley had held up; one claimed the lead had stayed “basically the same.” All day on Wednesday, officials went through nearly 200 affidavit ballots and more than 500 absentee ballots cast in the 30th Council District race.
The Board of Elections will not certify the results until all other races have been certified, NY1 News reported.
Voters submit absentee ballots in advance if they know they are unable to make it to the polls in person on Election Day; all mailed absentee ballots must be received by the Board of Elections no more than 7 days after Election Day. Affidavit ballots are given to voters who arrive at the polls but whose names are not found in the voter registry; the Board of Elections reviews the individual ballots and voter records before determining whether to count them.
Election Night results were just too close to call between the heated rivals, with all the scanners reporting in on Nov. 7, Holden, the Democrat-turned-Republican challenger, held a slim 133-vote lead over the two-term incumbent Democrat Crowley for the Council seat, which represents all or parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Woodhaven and Woodside.
Stay tuned to QNS.com for further developments on the 30th Council District race as they are made available.
