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The petition challenge came from Peekskill Democrat Chairwoman Marina Ciotti and County Legislator candidate Duane Jackson against the Westchester County Board of Elections, according to a notice from Testa. The decision from the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to reject the claim that originally delayed tallying the results of the Sept. 10 primary election.
"This will now clear the way for the Board of Elections to finish the counting of all votes and certify the results of that primary," according to the notice from Testa. "When the lower court had dismissed the case brought against the BOE in August, Ms. Ciotti decided to appeal even though the court decision was clear cut and based on the claim being time-barred."
In its “Decision and Order,” the court wrote “since it is undisputed that this proceeding was not commenced within 14 days after the last day to file…as required by Election Law Section 16-102(2), the Supreme Court properly dismissed the proceeding as untimely,” according to the notice from Testa.
“The Peekskill Democratic Party and my opponent are determined to prevent a fair and open election process,” said Testa in the notice. "Their attempt to disenfranchise the voters of Cortlandt, Peekskill and Yorktown was resoundly rejected by the lower court. To continue their quest to eliminate the voters from having the opportunity to vote for a candidate of their choice is unconscionable."
Peekskill Republican Party Chairman, Vincent C. Vesce, said that the "beat goes on and on" for the Democratic Party, in the notice.
"They seem intent on not allowing the election process to go forward unless they get their way," Vesce said in the notice. "Even well after the time period elapsed for issuing simple challenges, they continued to waste the Court’s time and the taxpayer’s money on frivolous lawsuits such as this. To be honest, if the shoe was on the other foot and we had lost a claim in the lower court for similar reasons, I would have been embarrassed to bring such an appeal.”
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