Voting machine crash adds drama to council election in Corning's First Ward (NY)
Winner may not be known for weeks
Star Gazette. November 4, 2009. By Jeff Murray
Original: http://www.stargazette.com/article/20091104/NEWS01/911040353

It could be weeks before residents in Corning's First Ward know who will represent them on the Corning City Council, thanks to a faulty voting machine.

The two candidates for that seat are Democrat Diane Telehany and Republican Myron Crispino.

Numbers posted on the Steuben County Board of Elections Web site Wednesday give Telehany 66 votes to Crispino's 65.

Election officials couldn't say if all of the votes from the malfunctioning machine have been counted.

Steuben County is using new optical scan voting machines. There were no other reports of malfunctioning machines Tuesday, election officials said.

In addition, there are still nine absentee ballots from the First Ward that need to be tallied. Election officials say it may take weeks before they are sure all ballots have arrived, and an official count can be made.

In the meantime, Telehany and Crispino can't do much except wait.

"Being my first time, I don't have any thing to compare it to. Of course I'm anxious to know what the outcome is," Crispino said.

"Well I've got to be honest and say I have been thinking about it," Telehany said. "Until all the numbers are final, nothing is definite until the last votes are counted."

County election officials plan to start an official audit of all of the results Thursday.

Republicans fared well in other elections in the city, winning both the mayor's race and three other City Council races.

Schuyler County

Glenn R. Larison, a Republican incumbent from Odessa, was the top vote-getter in balloting Tuesday for three seats to represent District III in the Schuyler County Legislature.

With all polling places reporting, the tally was Larison 1,008, Republican Barbara J. Halpin of Odessa 985, and Republican incumbent Doris L. Karius 925. Democrat Clifford D. Yaw received 756 votes.

District III covers Cayuta, Catharine and Hector. The term of office is four years.

Correspondent Glenda Gephart contributed to this article.