A court-ordered do-over election for fire commissioner in Toms River is set for September 20, but with five weeks remaining, the two sides are waiting for Superior Court Judge Robert Brenner to decide whether the local fire company or the Ocean County Board of Elections will be responsible for counting the votes.
A state appellate court panel decided on July 1 that the February contest between Anthony Cirz and Michael Hopson needed to be run again after reversing Superior Court Judge Valter Must’s ruling to count two write-in votes cast for candidates whose names already appeared on the ballot.
Dawn Halliwell, the Fire District’s financial clerk, asked the Ocean County Board of Elections whether to count write-in votes for candidates who also appeared on the ballot. She was informed the Board of Election “would not count” those votes, but Halliwell then made a “unilateral decision” to count the votes anyway, saying the fire district “d[id]n’t have a policy and it’s our election.”
The new results — which were certified and posted after the fire district treasurer’s “attorney friend” said to publish the revised tally — showed Cirz as the winner by one vote.
Hopson challenged the results and Must determined the write-in votes for Cirz and another candidate who finished fourth should be counted, because the voter’s intention was clear.
In a 39-page decision, the appellate court criticized the administration of the election, saying the results should not depend on who is running it.
Cirz’s attorney, Scott Salmon, has challenged the role of the Board of Elections because its chairman, Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, is Hopson’s uncle. Salmon wants Gilmore to recuse himself
But the attorney general’s office, while staying out of the conflict question, disagrees.
“Allowing the board to staff and oversee the election provides for the continuity of effort required to allow the Board to carry out its duties accurately and efficiently,” said Acting Attorney General Angela Cai. “If the board is ultimately responsible for canvassing the vote and certifying the results, it should be permitted to staff and oversee the election itself rather than rely on the staff and policies of the fire district.”
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