The New York congressional race between Republican incumbent Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley is one of the hottest in the nation. Nearly $60 million has been spent on this race. The district includes northern Westchester County, some of Rockland County, all of Putnam County, and portions of Southern Dutchess County.
In Westchester County, seen as one of the more Democratic areas, there are serious procedural problems. The ballot machines don’t accept the ballot. Too thick. So the ballots are being put in orange bags. Already the campaigns are saying there is no way that the vote-counting will finish tonight. There are lots of reassurances from the local board of elections, the county executive, and New York Attorney General Letitia James (yes, her) that all ballots will be secure and counted. I’m glad for the paper element of these elections.
I know for a fact that the election sites are all overseen on a bipartisan basis, and this district’s race has too much invested in it to be without election lawyers. But I just have to say that the orange bags are unnerving. This is the least secure our votes have ever seemed to be here. If the race is close — or if there is a major discrepancy between early votes and day-of votes — it’s going to be a massive controversy.