Madison Democrats Mull Recount

A provisional ballot count Tuesday did not change the outcome of a close Madison Borough Council race.

GOP candidate Patrick Rowe received six votes while Democratic candidate Maureen Byrne received three votes, extending Rowe's lead over Byrne to 17 votes.

Madison Democratic Committee Chairman Thomas Honohan said Tuesday evening the party plans to petition for a recount. The recount would involve counting mail-in ballots by hand. Mail-in ballots initially are counted by a machine. (Honohan said Wednesday the issue was being reconsidered and they still were discussing whether to petition for a recount.)

Rowe said Tuesday night he considered it unlikely a recount would affect the tally enough to change the outcome.

Overall, Rowe received 2,095 votes while Byrne received 2,078 votes, including 98 mail-in votes for Rowe and 129 mail-in votes for Byrne.

Byrne told the Daily Record she was considering a mail-in ballot recount, but did not want to drag out the election. She also said she might run again next year and Gov. Chris Christie's popularity made it "a tough year to run as a Democrat."

Rowe, the Board of Education vice president, ran with incumbent Councilman Robert Catalanello, who apparently won re-election to one of the two seats up for vote.

Byrne, a four-year member of the Downtown Development Commission, ran with Jeffrey Gertler, an 11-year member of the Planning Board and six-year member of the Environmental Commission.

All four candidates received more than 2,000 votes.

Former Councilman Sam Cerciello also appeared on the ballot as an independent and received more than 400 votes.

Unofficial results

DEM - Maureen M. Byrne 1,946 poll votes + 129 mail-in votes + 3 provisional ballots = 2,078

DEM - Jeffrey J. Gertler 1,896 poll votes + 122 mail-in votes + 2 provisional ballots  = 2,020

REP - Patrick W. Rowe 1,991 poll votes + 98 mail-in votes + 6 provisional ballots = 2,095

REP - Robert G. Catalanello 2,041 poll votes + 94 mail-in votes + 9 provisional ballots = 2,144

IND - Sebastian "Sam" Cerciello 361 poll votes + 57 mail-in votes + 2 provisional ballots = 420