“It is time to close the book on this election and focus on building a better community and a more united country for our children,” he said in a statement, congratulating Tenney and promising to make “the transition process as smooth as possible”.
The dispute was a prolonged fiasco that revealed the shortcomings of New York’s decentralized electoral system, which depends heavily on local electoral councils. After leading by about 28,000 votes on election night, Tenney’s lead shrunk to just under 50 votes as absentee votes rolled.
The lawsuit became a total disaster when several counties continued to discover countless absentee ballot boxes and lost control of contested ballots that may have been incorrectly computed. The electoral law clearly states that objection ballots need to be clearly marked on the ballot – some counties were using fallen sticky notes. In Oneida County, more than 2,000 voters were turned down because their requirements were filed, but not processed by the authorities in time for election day.
Still, Brindisi called Tenney a few hours after the state certified the election at noon on Monday. He said he would withdraw his legal remedies and close his request for a manual recount of the more than 300,000 votes cast. His team said the campaign does not foresee any further action, despite describing the process as flawed.
“Unfortunately, this electoral and counting process was riddled with errors, inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal electoral laws. My only disappointment is that the Court did not wish to grant us a recount, ”he said. “Unfortunately, we will never know how many legal voters were refused at the ballot box or un counted ballots due to the ineptitude of the Electoral Boards, especially in Oneida County. My hope is that some authority will intervene and investigate the massive voter deprivation that occurred during this election. “
An ongoing legal battle could have prolonged the race for months, adding to the confusion and unrest for the more than 700,000 residents in the district who had not been represented in the Chamber for more than a month, since Brindisi’s term ended on January 3.
Tenney won the seat for the first time in 2016, replacing the now late Republican Rep. Richard Hanna. Brindisi, a moderate Democrat, ousted Tenney in 2018, beating district president Donald Trump by 16 points in his first election.
The rematch was one of the most disputed in the 2020 cycle and saw millions in foreign spending on both sides. The district covers central New York and includes the cities of Utica and Binghamton. Democrats will control redistricting in the state and may try to create a more favorable seat for Brindisi if he chooses to run again.
Tenney’s win leads the GOP to a net gain of a dozen places in the last cycle. They are just five to regain a majority in 2022. Another bright spot for Republicans: Tenney is the 30th Republican woman elected in 2020; they started the cycle with just 13.
New York’s 22nd district was not the only one with a razor-thin finish. A seat in the Iowa House was decided by just six votes, and the defeated Democratic candidate, Rita Hart, challenged the now Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ victory to the House Administration Committee under the contested Federal Election Law.
This committee may decide to conduct its own recount to indicate who is the legitimate winner of the chair. The National Republican Congressional Committee took advantage of Brindisi’s decision and pressured Hart to withdraw his appeal.
“It’s time for Rita Hart to follow Anthony Brindisi’s example,” said Mike Berg, an NRCC spokesman, “to admit that she lost and let Congresswoman Miller Meeks focus on serving the people of Iowa’s Second Congressional District.”