WALLKILL – Following a hand recount of all votes this past Tuesday, incumbent Wallkill Town Supervisor George Serrano leads his opponent Democrat Neil Meyer by two votes, but the race is not yet over. In November after all machine votes were certified and absentee ballots were counted, the race was tied at 1,910 votes each which required the hand recount that put Serrano two votes ahead.
The parties are heading to court where a state Supreme Court justice will hear arguments and rule on three ballots that could determine the outcome of the race. The parties will be arguing voter intent before the court as the three ballots in question have anomalies that set them apart from the thousands of other ballots cast.
If either Serrano or Meyer were certified by the court as the winner of the election, they would serve a two-year term. If the court rules the contest is a tie, the result would be a vacancy in the office of the supervisor beginning January 1. The newly seated board would be responsible for filling the vacancy, with either a special election to follow at the call of the governor, or a general election for a one year term to take place in November 2o24.
