HOBOKEN — It’s just about three weeks after the Nov. 6 elections, and still there are no final results on three public questions or three victors for the three Board of Education seats. Hudson County Board of Elections clerk Michael Harper said Monday, “I have Hoboken’s provisional ballots in front of me as we speak. I’m shooting for Wednesday.”
The hold-up to produce final numbers was due to a few things.
Presidential elections generally see higher numbers in turnout, for one. “People come out of the woodwork,” said Harper.
This was the first election where vacant seats on the nine member Board of Education were voted on in November rather than April.
Also, due to Hurricane Sandy, more people were able to vote electronically, and the deadline was extended to the Friday after the election. The Hudson County Board of Elections office was able to receive mail-in ballots up until Nov 19, so long as they were postmarked by Nov 5.
Due to Sandy-induced interruption in mail service, the office was still receiving ballots by the bins as late as Nov. 14.
“The only thing outstanding now are the provisional ballots,” Harper said. “There are probably 1,500 to 1,600, definitely the most provisionals I have ever dealt with.”
Aside from the three Board of Education seats hanging in the balance, a public question on rent control remains unanswered. The highly-debated question, which seeks to remove rent control upon the vacancy of a current tenant – permanently in some cases and temporarily in others – saw only a 531 vote difference.
The two other public questions on the ballot, which will move mayor/council elections from May to November and eliminate run-off elections, do not look like they can be overturned based on machine numbers.