Recount for New Jersey's 39th District has begun. See who will pay for it
Candidate David Jiang, who came in third place with 8,317 votes, requested the recount.
Jiang's running mate, Andrew LaBruno, received the nomination with the most votes at 9,137. Donna Abene received 8,454 votes in second place — 137 votes more than Jiang. Candidate Damon Englese came in fourth place with 6,137 votes.
Only the first and second-place finishers will be on the November ballot for the two General Assembly seats and will face Republican incumbents Robert Auth and John Azzariti Jr. on Nov. 4.
Board of Elections Chairman Richard Miller said, vote-wise, there is a big gap, but percentage-wise, it is 0.43% — it was a close race.
Story continues below photo gallery.
"The candidate felt that he wanted to do this, and the judge ruled that we should hold the recount," Miller said. "I don't think he will pick up that many votes, but you never know and he's entitled to this, so we are proceeding with it."
A candidate who calls for a recount will pay a percentage of the total cost. Miller said the board of elections will cover about $20,000 for the recount, and the candidate will be charged approximately $2,500.
"It's definitely an expense, but it's what the judge ruled," Miller said. "This is democracy at work. Sometimes we don't agree because of the cost, but you have to do what you have to do."
Story continues below photo gallery.
At 11 a.m. on Aug. 4, a team of people began the hand count of the 8,000 votes that were mailed in, as well as the provisional ballots from the 28 towns that fall under the 39th District. There will be two teams with a designated commissioner cross-checking the names and ballots.
This is the first district-wide recount in at least the last 14 years, Miller said.
Assembly District 39 is comprised of Bergen County municipalities Allendale, Alpine, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Mahwah, Midland Park, Montvale, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, Ramsey, River Vale, Rockleigh, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington (Bergen), Westwood and Woodcliff Lake.
LaBruno and Jiang's website said it's "time to flip the 39th," a district that has not elected a Democrat since 1978.
"We're proud to share that Andrew has won a seat on the slate by a healthy margin — and we're still waiting on final vote-by-mail and provisional ballot counts to see if we can get David across the finish line. We're staying hopeful and optimistic while we wait for the final results," the last update on their campaign website said.
A message for comment left on their website was not immediately returned.
"We're incredibly proud of this campaign — powered by the people. Every door knocked, every conversation had, and every sign planted was driven by real grassroots energy," their campaign website said. "The preliminary results showed your efforts: LD39 had an impressive 36% voter turnout, compared to last year (22%) and 2023 (12%)."
LaBruno and Jiang were part of Steven Fulop's team as the Jersey City mayor sought the Democratic nomination for New Jersey governor. Mikie Sherrill received the Democratic nomination and Jack Ciattarelli the Republican in June's primary.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Recount to represent Bergen County in 39th District has begun
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Redistricting battles in Texas and elsewhere: Will courts play a role?: ANALYSIS
As Democrats search for ways to delay, if not defeat, Republican efforts to redraw election maps for political gain ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, they say, they may not find much help from federal courts. A landmark 2019 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court -- Rucho v. Common Cause -- removed federal judges almost entirely from the business of mediating disputes over partisan gerrymandering. "Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust. But the fact that such gerrymandering is incompatible with democratic principles does not mean that the solution lies with the federal judiciary," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. The ruling effectively shut the courthouse door on legal challenges to creatively-drawn electoral maps that dilute the influence of certain voters based on party affiliation. MORE: How redistricting in Texas and other states could change the game for US House elections "Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions," Roberts concluded in the opinion. Race, however, is a different matter -- and one that the Supreme Court has recognized a limited role for judges in examining under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 2 of the Act prohibits the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race, which has historically been interpreted to include the drawing of congressional districts that "crack" or "pack" communities of color in order to limit their influence. As recently as 2023, the high court said lower courts could intervene in "instances of intensive racial politics where the excessive role [of race] in the electoral process ... den[ies] minority voters equal opportunity to participate." MORE: Abbott threatens to oust Democrats who fled Texas over redistricting Some Democrats have begun alleging that the Texas GOP effort (and those in other states) is racially motivated. "They're coming in and cracking up parts of Austin voters and then merging my district with [Democratic] Congressman [Lloyd] Doggett's district, all with the intended effect of making it so that voters of color have less of a say in their elections, and so that Donald Trump gets his preferred member of Congress," Texas Democratic Rep. Greg Casar told ABC's Selina Wang on Sunday. Former Obama attorney general turned voting rights advocate Eric Holder told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday he is contemplating the possibility of new litigation under the Voting Rights Act. "This really exacerbates that which they've already done and strengthens the case that we have brought," Holder said of Texas' Republicans' redistricting efforts. A race-based challenge to any new Texas congressional map would get through the courthouse door, but it could ultimately face a skeptical Supreme Court, which has increasingly looked to eliminate any racial considerations under the Constitution. The justices are already considering a case from Louisiana involving the competing interests of the Equal Protection Clause and Voting Rights Act when it comes to race. Plaintiffs allege race was impermissibly used to create a discriminatory districts under Section 2; opponents argue that requiring a creation of new map that explicitly accounts for race is itself a violation of colorblind equal protection. When the court hears arguments this fall, there are signs several of the justices could seek to have Section 2 strictly limited or struck down entirely. "For over three decades, I have called for a systematic reassessment of our interpretation of §2," wrote Justice Clarence Thomas in June. "I am hopeful that this Court will soon realize that the conflict its §2 jurisprudence has sown with the Constitution is too severe to ignore." Ultimately, despite widespread public complaints about gerrymandering and the challenges it creates, the most likely and lasting solution may lie in legislatures and Congress. "The avenue for reform established by the Framers, and used by Congress in the past, remains open," Chief Justice Roberts wrote in Rucho. Proposals for fair districting criteria and independent commissions have circulated in statehouses and Congress for years. On Monday, one Republican lawmaker — Rep. Kevin Kiley of California — introduced a bill to ban mid-decade redrawing of congressional maps nationwide. Such a proposal could halt the state redistricting "arms race" now underway if it was adopted, though that looks highly unlikely.
Fox News
28 minutes ago
- Fox News
Charlamagne responds to Trump's social media attack after Fox interview
"Breakfast Club" host Charlamagne tha God doubled down on his criticism of President Donald Trump's policies and second term record after Trump lashes out at radio host on social media.
New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
FEMA will deny funding grants to states and cities that boycott Israeli firms.
States and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to grant notices posted by the agency in recent days. The new eligibility criteria could restrict access to at least $1.9 billion earmarked for search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems used during blackouts, Reuters reported. To be eligible for federal funds, the grant notices say that states and cities must follow the 'terms and conditions' set forth by the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of FEMA. Since April, D.H.S. has prohibited grantees from 'limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.' The policy underscores how the Trump administration has linked its stance on Israel to unrelated federal funding, including billions of dollars in research grants for colleges and universities. But the move to restrict FEMA grants may be largely symbolic, because no states — and only a handful of cities — have enacted laws or policies that prohibit state agencies from doing business with Israeli firms. Still, the policy could prevent wildfire response funding from flowing to cities like Richmond, Calif., where the city council voted last year to divest from companies doing business in Israel. It also comes as the Atlantic hurricane season heats up, with Tropical Storm Dexter forming in the western Atlantic late Sunday but not forecast to be a threat anywhere on the East Coast.
