UPDATE: As absentee ballots are counted, Marchione adds 4 votes to her lead over McDonald

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione’s lead on Sen. Roy McDonald in their Republican primary contest grew to 110 votes on Thursday, after officials counted affidavit and absentee ballots in Washington and Rensselaer counties.

Heading into the day, McDonald had 6,732 votes overall and Marchione had 6,838 in the race for the GOP nomination in the 43rd Senate District.

On primary day, Marchione won Rensselaer County, 2,247 to 2,043. That lead grew on Thursday, with the review of more than 320 absentee ballots and about a dozen affidavit ballots. The count swung back and forth all day long, but Marchione ultimately netted three votes from the process.

According to the Marchione campaign, they also gained one additional vote in Washington County, where 20 absentee ballots and two affidavit ballots were reviewed.

There were 21 affidavit or absentee ballots set aside in Rensselaer County, following objections from the two campaigns that need to be ruled on by a judge. The Marchione campaign objected to 19 votes and the McDonald campaign objected to 2.

Lawyers for both candidates objected to a handful of these votes, causing some early morning tension, with McDonald lawyer Jeff Buley objecting to the other side’s objections.

For the most part, though, the scene has been rather jovial.