Tenney Certified as Winner of NY-22 Congressional Seat

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney has been certified as winner of the NY-22 Congressional race, following an order by Justice Brian DelConte in Oswego County on Friday.

DelConte ruled against the Brindisi campaign which asked him to delay declaring a winner until all appeals were resolved in the race, some of which would contest the current outcome of the race.

The Tenney campaign was quick to confirm victory on Friday.

"New York State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte today issued his final ruling in the race for New York's 22nd Congressional District, directing Oneida County and the New York State Board of Elections to certify Claudia Tenney as the winner of the 2020 congressional race. After an exhaustive 94-day legal process, Claudia prevailed by 109 votes," according to the Tenney camp.

DelConte was being asked by Brindisi to delay certification until each of the appeals was decided upon. The former Congressman's campaign was reminding the court that if a candidate was confirmed the winner and sworn in to Congress, and then that candidate lost the appeal, they would actually have to be removed from office.

Brindisi's campaign charged that Justice DelConte made a major mistake when he declared Tenney as the winner.

"I am shocked and surprised by this decision because of the countless errors and discrepancies that have occurred throughout this initial count," said Anthony Brindisi. "I believe a full audit and hand recount is the only way to resolve this race. With the margin so thin, the ever changing tally, and the countless errors that have occurred arriving at today’s final number we can’t afford to wonder here. We have to get it right. Because this is not a raffle, this is a congressional election. The law that took effect January 1 says we should abide by hand counts whenever the margin is 0.5% or less— it’s even closer right now. Let’s follow that rule, get this right for our constituents and count all the 325,000-plus votes. It’s shocking, right now, no one knows who actually won this race. My opponent and I deserve true clarity.”

A New York State law, enacted for elections starting in 2021, requires a hand recount if the margin is less than .5 percent. A separate, existing statute provides that the court may order a hand audit when  “there is a likelihood of a material discrepancy between” the results of a hand tally and the results of  a voting machine tabulation, which “creates a substantial possibility” that the discrepancies may have impacted the apparent outcome of the election.

In addition to well reported errors across nearly every county, evidence before the court highlights an error rate from the Oneida County machine count versus hand count of .8 percent. Across all ballots cast, that same error rate could mean an error on nearly 2600 ballots.

On Friday, Claudia Tenney publicly thanked the district for letting her to Congress for a second time.

"I’m honored to have won this race. It was a hard-fought campaign and I thank Anthony Brindisi for his service. Now that every legal vote has been counted, it’s time for the results to be certified. The voters need a voice in Congress, and I look forward to getting to work on behalf of New York's 22nd Congressional District.”