Liu Files Lawsuit Contesting Holmdel Election Results

HOLMDEL, NJ — The lawsuits continue to fly in Holmdel: A woman who ran on the Republican ticket in the Nov. 5 municipal election, and lost by a mere two votes after a lengthy recount process, has now filed a lawsuit contesting the election results.

The lawsuit was filed by Chiung-yin Liu, a Holmdel resident and sitting Board of Education member. In her suit, filed this past Tuesday in Monmouth County Superior Court, Liu takes issue with the counting of the vote-by-mail and provisional ballots. She says some of those ballots were for her, but incorrectly thrown out, mailed in late or counted for other candidates.

"Recounts are common; we always have recounts in Monmouth County," county Clerk Christine Hanlon told Patch on Thursday, alluding to how many small towns there are in the area. "But a lawsuit contesting election results is not that common."

Liu's lawsuit comes on the heels of a suit filed by her former running mate, Eric Hinds. As Patch reported, Hinds filed a lawsuit of his own earlier this month, suing the Holmdel Twp. Committee and demanding they take back their censure of him.

In addition to Hanlon, Monmouth County's superintendent of elections, Hon. Mary DeSarno, Holmdel Twp. Clerk Wendy Patrovich, the four-person Monmouth County Board of Elections and rival Prakash Santhana are all named as defendants in Liu's suit. Her lawyer is Richard Sanvenero Jr., at the law offices of Timothy F. McGoughran in Ocean Twp.

However, the suit clarifies that DeSarno, the county clerk and the Holmdel clerk were all named as a formality due to their official capacity overseeing election results in Monmouth County.

Who Liu most takes issue with appears to be the Monmouth County Board of Elections, a four-person board made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. It is the Board's job to count the vote-by-mail and provisional ballots. Those results are then handed over to, and certified by, the superintendent and the county clerk.

Liu and her lawyer argue that numerous mail-in ballots were marked for her, but incorrectly counted as votes for other candidates. Her lawsuit names — by name — numerous Holmdel residents who she says had their votes improperly counted. Her lawsuit also claims the Board of Elections improperly rejected certain ballots, and that the U.S. Postal Service delivered ballots late that should have been counted.

Liu said she was not personally present at the Dec. 5 recount, but that "many voters brought their cases to our attention," she told Patch. "The volunteers and my legal team have conducted investigations, as well. We believe that we have a strong case to proceed this contest. We want my supporters’ votes to be counted when they followed the rules to cast their votes!"

Liu's lawyer reiterated that it was Holmdel voters who brought the vote issues to her.

Liu said the money to pay her legal bills to contest the election "will be paid through my campaign funds. Generous supporters continue chipping in," she said.

Holmdel's Jan. 2 reorg meeting is up in the air

Holmdel will have its annual reorganization meeting Jan. 2, 2020 and right now it remains unclear who exactly will be sworn into the Township Committee on that date.

What happens now? Liu's lawsuit will be reviewed by a judge, who will decide if it has enough merit to proceed to a hearing. At that hearing, the Monmouth County Board of Elections will be represented by the New Jersey Attorney General's office, as is the law. The state Attorney General represents the government whenever elections are contested.

This past fall, Liu ran with Hinds on the Republican party ticket against Independent candidate Cathy Weber and Santhana.

While Hinds — even though he was a mayor and ten-year incumbent — gained the fewest votes on election night, and Weber clearly gained the most, Liu and Santhana were neck in neck for weeks, only separated by one single vote.

Santhana requested a recount, which was done earlier this December. After the results of the recount last week, he emerged ahead of Liu by a mere two votes.

Here is the vote count as it stands right now in Holmdel:

Unofficial Holmdel Recount Results:
Cathy Weber 2,170 votes
Prakash Santhana 2,087 votes
Chiung-Yin Liu 2,085 votes
Eric Hinds 2,066 votes