Astorino Leads Harckham In Dutchess, Putnam Counties

This article was updated at 2:50 p.m.

As the New York State Board of Election continues to post results, Rob Astorino has a lead over incumbent state Senator Pete Harckham in the 40th District.

As of 2:32 p.m., Astorino had 51 percent of the vote to Harckham's 45 percent.

According to the state BOE, there are 211,886 active registered voters in the district, which comprises parts of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, including Beekman and Pawling in Dutchess; Brewster, Carmel, Patterson and Southeast in Putnam; and Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Pound Ridge, Sleepy Hollow, Somers and Yorktown in Westchester.

In Dutchess County, with 9,568 votes counted, Astorino held a comfortable lead with 62 percent of the vote. In Putnam County, with 27,779 votes counted, he led with 63 percent of the vote.

In Westchester County, where most of the district's voters live, Harckham held a narrow lead of 51 percent with 90,680 votes counted.

Still left to be counted are all mailed-in absentee ballots. Under New York law, mailed-in ballots may be received up to seven days after the election — this year, Nov. 10 — as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Also, a New York voter may vote in person even after casting an absentee ballot. That is another reason why absentee ballots cannot be counted until after all in-person votes are cast.

Check back with Patch for updates.