The Election by the Numbers

On Tuesday, Barnegat returned its two incumbent candidates for Township Committee to office in a very close race – so close, in fact, that the third-highest vote getter is hoping the official count of provisional ballots by county officials Monday may show that he actually prevailed over his Republican rival.

To better understand how the five candidates fared in each of the township’s voting districts, Barnegat Patch totaled and graphed the results. Click on the image to the right for a closer view.

Voter turnout was low in Barnegat. Based on the number of votes cast in the various races, approximately 3,900 people visited the polls. That amounts to only about 28 percent of Barnegat’s 14,011 registered voters.

Top vote-getter Len Morano beat out all five candidates in five out of 14 districts. Marty Lisella and Mike Howard each won in three districts, with Lisella winning handily in both Mirage districts. Maxine Blumenthal took the highest number of votes in only one district, District 5, which includes her own neighborhood of Brighton at Barnegat. Morano and Howard tied in two districts

In the majority of districts – nine of 14 – both Democrats came out ahead of both Republicans. Both Republicans beat both Democrats in only two districts – District 8, which is one of the Mirage districts, and District 5. And in most districts, the two Democratic candidates got a similar number of votes. That data together suggests most voters who picked one Democrat ended up also voting for the other.

District 9 – Heritage Point – had the highest voter turnout, and voters there appear to have harbored the strongest anti-incumbent sentiment. Democratic challenger Mike Howard was the top vote-getter there, closely followed by Maxine Blumenthal. Independent Howard Effron also earned more votes there than in any other district.

For a chart with the vote totals, check out our . For a list of Barnegat's districts and the corresponding neighborhoods they serve, click .