Politics & Government

Conservative Primary For Supervisor: Too Close to Call

The Suffolk County Board of Elections said they will made a decision at the end of the week or early next week.

For several tedious hours on Tuesday, Suffolk County Board of Elections workers counted and recounted 144 hand-written ballots cast by Conservative voters in a primary race for Southampton supervisor last week.  In the end, neither side was able to claim victory. 

Of the ballots, 73 were cast for Linda Kabot, who waged the write-in primary against the Conservative's choice for supervisor, Phil Keith, who garnered 72 votes. 

But, while Kabot is ahead by 1 vote, 6 of the ballots cast for her are being challenged by the Conservative Party. 

According to Kabot, the Conservatives are challenging ballots where voters spelled her name incorrectly. 

Kabot, who already has the Republican nod to run for supervisor, said some voters also spelled her opponent's name wrong, some only writing in his last name; however, she said she opted not to file a challenge. 

"Even though we felt I had the right to challenge then, I felt let them be counted and they will come out how they come out."

The Suffolk County Board of Elections said they will made a decision at the end of the week or early next week.

Keith, who was not able to be present during the counting because of jury duty said that no matter how the primary turns out, he is pleased that the members of the Conservative Party had the opportunity to have their votes counted.

"If Linda prevails, I will be the first to congratulate her," he said. "In any case, this is a wonderful result for the Conservative Party, no matter which way it goes."

Patch Wants to know: Do you think ballots with names spelled incorrectly should count? 


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