BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — The judge presiding over the race in New York’s 22nd Congressional District has ordered all Boards of Elections to immediately certify the results of the race and transfer them to the state.
According to the court's final tallies, Republican Claudia Tenney leads by 109 votes. After the Oneida County certifies its vote count, Tenney is likely to be sworn into Congress. That would put the Republicans with 212 seats in the House of Representatives, while Democrats hold a majority of 221.
According to Justice DelConte’s decision, after adjustments and corrections, 156,098 ballots were cast for Tenney and 155,989 for Democrat Anthony Brindisi, who unseated Tenney in the 2018 election.
326,566 people voted in the district, which covers parts of the Southern Tier, Central New York and Mohawk Valley.
DelConte temporarily paused certification earlier this week to deal with outstanding legal questions. He said Brindisi had to prove he would be “irreparably harmed” if the election results were certified to grant a stay in the final certification before all appeals are completed.
In his decision Friday evening, DelConte wrote that there is no prospect of irreparable harm because certifying the vote count does not prevent Brindisi from further vying for the seat. He can still challenge the election in the House of Representatives under the Federal Contested Elections Act.
“This is because the House of Representatives—and not the New York State Unified Court System, or even the New York State Board of Elections—that sits as the final judge of the elections of its members,” DelConte wrote.
He added that the House has the sole authority to seat or refuse to seat either Tenney or Brindisi, or seat one conditionally during the course of the lawsuit.
Brindisi can also pursue a challenge through the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. As of Thursday, his campaign filed an appeal with the appellate court’s fourth department.