Bishop vols go door to door to verify vote

Candidates aren’t quite done with voters yet.

The tight race for the First Congressional District will likely be decided by absentee ballots and both candidates are reportedly checking to see that all were sent in.

Volunteers for Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop canvassed door to door this weekend on Shelter Island, asking residents who they voted for and if absentee ballots were sent in.

Shelter Island Democratic Committee Chairperson Heather Reylek said that all responses were voluntary; in other words, no one was compelled to disclose which candidate they voted for.

Jon Schneider of Mr. Bishop’s office said that the canvassing effort was needed “given the anomalies” in election night reporting, and “to get the best sense of what happened.”

Initial reports showed a 3,461 vote lead for Mr. Bishop but that shifted over the weekend, with election officials saying that Republican Randy Altschuler was ahead by 383 votes.

Mr. Bishop will seek a full hand count of the entire District, Mr. Schneider said, in order to “protect every vote.”

Mr. Altschuler asked voters through his Facebook postings to email his campaign if they “experienced any irregularities on Election Day.” His campaign, as well as Mr. Bishop’s, have also called voters directly.

On Monday, the Board of Elections began its state-mandated audit of 3 percent of all machines, according to Mr. Rogers. Absentee and military ballots won’t even be counted for another week. There are about 9,500 absentee ballots in play in the congressional race.

Democratic incumbent Marc Alessi also supports a hand count of the votes. He trails Dan Losquadro by about 900 votes in the 1st District assembly race after an initial report of a 40-vote margin. Mr. Alessi stated in a press release: “I want to ensure that the will of the people has been accurately recorded, and thus far I am not convinced.”