#COVID in elections office latest mishap in upstate NY race

ALBANY — They just can’t catch a break.

A minor coronavirus outbreak in the Madison County board of elections office this week has caused two employees to quarantine, marking the latest mishap in yet-to-be called race for New York’s 22nd Congressional district. 

It’s the latest wrinkle in the tight race between the incumbent Democratic, Rep. Anthony Brindisi and Republican Claudia Tenney — a race that has been mired in an epic court battle all month with Tenney now leading by a mere 12 votes. 

But a clerk in the Madison County BOE office tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, forcing one other staffer into a precautionary quarantine, as the individual may have been in contact with the infected person.

“It was one individual. In an office of six, one tested positive and the other one is quarantining,” Mary Egger, the county’s Republican commissioner told The Post in a phone interview Thursday. 

“It’s just the four of us, but we got this. We can handle this, we’re ready to go,” she said.

The state Health Department determined Egger and other employees — including Democratic Commissioner Laura Costello and two other deputy commissioners — do not need to quarantine and were allowed to return to the office Thursday.

Egger said the incident does not impact the county’s work, or election results. 

“Either way we’re ready to certify. If the judge turned around today and said he needs ‘A, B, C and D,’ We would be ready to go,” she explained, referring to the state Supreme Court judge — Oswego County Justice Scott DelConte — who is charged with handling the contentious court battle between Tenney and Brindisi’s lawyers.

The two campaigns are due in court on Monday, but on Thursday each camp’s legal team submitted memos to the court and have another filing deadline due on Friday.

Tenney’s campaign argues the district’s election results should be certified now, but Brindisi’s team contests there’s still a multitude of county BOE errors that should be fixed as well as a number of disputed ballots that need to be checked out before certification.

While New York state law does not allow for an automatic recount in close elections — Oswego County state Supreme Court judge Scott DelConte could call for a full recount of the district’s ballots or a recanvassing of the votes in each of the eight counties in the district.

A new law passed by the state Legislature last year would trigger a recount in tight races, but it has yet to take effect.

There are roughly 1,500 votes still in play, according to sources.

Both campaigns have called into question a series of ballots including those cast by dead voters, the discovery of previously uncounted ballots or errors by local election officials.

Tenney led Brindisi by over 28,000 votes on election night, but her lead was sharply cut once election officials started counting absentee ballots and they largely broke in Brindisi’s favor.

Both candidates have separately said they would win the election.

The 22nd district is now the only race in the state with unofficial results, as the state Board of Elections certified all vote tallies Thursday including the presidential, congressional, state senate and assembly elections and judgeships. 

“I hope they certify the 22nd race. I know it’s a close race. But great, as soon as they can certify all the races they should,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo during an Albany-based press conference Thursday evening, when asked on the topic.