Cecilia Tkaczyk. (Dan Barton)
The state’s highest court, by a 4-1 margin, has agreed to allow the counting of 99 contested ballots in the state Senate race between Republican George Amedore and Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk. The decision rejects an appeal by Amedore’s lawyers that an appellate court decision to count the ballots be overruled.
Amedore was declared a 37-vote winner in December by an acting Supreme Court judge, a decision appealed by Tkaczyk forces.
Of the 99 ballots, 53 are from Ulster County where Tkaczyk took almost 60 percent of the vote in the Nov. 6 election. Controversy surrounds the role of election commissioners in the five-county district allowing some poll workers to vote early.
The Court of Appeals, which has the ballots under lock and key in Albany, has not indicated when it would begin counting ballots. The state Senate opened session last week; Amedore was seated, but not allowed to vote pending the outcome of court action.
Amedore is a former state assemblyman from Rotterdam. Tkaczyk is vice president of the Duansburg school board.
The new 46th includes the city of Kingston, and the towns of Hurley, Lloyd, Saugerties and Woodstock.