Mail-In Ballots Put Gambuti Ahead Of Pudup For Final Wayne School Board Seat

WAYNE, N.J. — The addition of mail-in ballots has pushed one Board of Education candidate ahead of another since election night — by nine votes.

Suzanne Pudup had received 3,729 votes to Cheryl Gambuti’s 3,665. But the addition of mail-in ballots means Gambuti now has 4,180 and Pudup has 4,171, Township Clerk Paul Margiotta confirmed.

RELATED: Wayne Election Results

Those new vote totals do not include ballots cast at a voting machine at Summer Hill Apartments in Ward five, District three that broke at noon Tuesday. Poll workers were unable to print the vote totals from that machine. The votes can only be accessed directly from the machine’s computer, which requires a court order.

Margiotta said that Passaic County Clerk Kristen Corrado would seek a Superior Court order early next week.

Provisional ballots have yet to be count as well, Margiotta said. Corrado must also certify the results, which could take some time, Margiotta said.

In related news, incumbent trustees Michael Bubba and Mitch Badiner won reelection to their seats and residents overwhelmingly voted down bringing full-day kindergarten to the district.