The Monmouth County Board of Elections are expected to ask a judge to order a recount of an Ocean Township school board race after their voting machine vendor, Election Systems and Software (ES&S), acknowledged on Tuesday that a human programming error caused some votes to be double counted, the New Jersey Globe has learned.
Frustration among election officials in Monmouth County from both parties has caused the election board to move forward despite the advice of the New Jersey Attorney General’s office and not recanvass and recertify the November 8 general election, two sources with direct knowledge of the board’s actions have confirmed.
Steve Clayton took office this month after Monmouth County certified his 20-vote victory over Jeffrey Weinstein. A new unofficial count on Tuesday puts Weinstein ahead by one vote.
“I’m excited abou the opportunity to keep serving the community,” Weinstein said. “I’m glad the problem was identifed and that they’re taking steps to recitify it.”
Local election officials are blaming Deputy Attorney General Susan Scott for a lack of transparency, saying her guidance was that there be no public statements the vote tabulation errors. The attorney general’s office, which acts as the legal counsel the county election board, became aware of the issue last week; so did New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way.
It’s not clear if the Board of Elections has the statutory authority to revoke a certificate of election.