Absentees fail to swing Malta supervisor race

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

After 105 absentee ballots were tallied today in the Malta town supervisor race, Republican incumbent Paul Sausville retained the 61-vote lead he had on Election Night.

“As expected, the absentees followed the same lines as the (machine vote),” said Democratic challenger Cynthia Young.

Young watched as the absentee ballots were opened, closely examined and counted this afternoon at the Saratoga County Board of Elections.

Of the 105 absentees returned in the town election, 63 were from Republicans, 17 from Democrats, 17 from voters not enrolled in a party and five from Independence Party members.

Sausville will not become the official winner until after Nov. 21, the last day for military votes to be received. The election results will be certified sometime after that date.

Election officials said there were not enough military votes requested to make a difference in the Malta race. The machine totals in the supervisor race are 1,378 votes for Sausville and 1,317 for Young, and after the absentees were added, Sausville unofficially retained that same margin.

“I think we ran a good campaign,” Young said, pointing at that while Republican voters in Malta outnumber Democratic voters 3 to 1, Sausville, a Republican, was only re-elected by a slim margin.