All Emergency, Mail-In Ballots Counted In Mercer County: Officials

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The remaining emergency and mail-in ballots on the November 8 election have been counted for all municipalities in Mercer County, election officials said.

“I applaud the Board of Elections and their staff for working tirelessly under unprecedented circumstances,” Nathaniel Walker, Superintendent of Elections, said in a media statement.

The Office of the Mercer County Superintendent of Elections turned over the emergency ballots and provisional ballots to the Mercer County Board of Elections to tabulate the results.

The Mercer County Board of Elections is currently counting the provisional votes.

“To the citizens of Mercer County and the various candidates, I offer my gratitude for your patience and forbearance as we work to ensure that your voices were heard on November 8,” Walker said.

In a post on social media, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami-Covello said that the results will be certified “on time and in compliance with State deadline of November 26th.”

Meanwhile, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Shelia Oliver signed Executive Order No. 103, delaying local runoffs from Dec. 6 to Dec.13.

“We appreciate Lieutenant Governor Shelia Oliver’s decision to extend the runoff elections by delaying them for one week,” Walker said, “Her Executive Order while prudent, will be more beneficial to the candidates in the runoff elections.”

The run-off election in Trenton will now take place on Dec. 13, Sollami-Covello said. The County Clerk said the problems on Election Day was not the cause of the run-off being postponed.

“The Executive Order states it is to allow time for vote by mail ballots to be printed and mailed since many still wish to vote that way due to Covid, and also because there could be mail delays over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend,” Sollami-Covello said.

More:
Voting Machine Issues Reported In Mercer Co. On Election Day: Clerk

Ballots Go Missing In Mercer County, Officials Go To Court

On Election Day Mercer County suffered widespread voting machine issues. Voters had to use manual balloting and officials were forced to drop paper ballots in an emergency slot in the back of the voting machines. The County Clerk told Patch that the issue was specific to Dominion voting machine scanners, which were experiencing a reading issue.

But Dominion officials said the problem wasn’t with its machines.

“The issue in Mercer County is a printing issue. The Dominion tabulators functioned exactly as they should in accordance with certification,” a spokesperson told Patch in an email statement. “We are actively working with Royal Printing and Mercer County election officials on this issue.”

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com