A judge has directed the Morris County Board of Elections to conduct a recount of the Morris Township committee election, on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014.
Committeeman Jeff Grayzel, the governing body’s lone Democrat, trails Republican newcomer Louise Johnson by 15 votes.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck said a hearing on the recount request would occur on Dec. 5.
But because the Republicans are not opposing the recount, the judge has signed an order approving it, Grayzel said on Friday. The recount is scheduled for 1:30 pm on Monday at the Board of Elections warehouse in Cedar Knolls, the committeeman said.
The order, requested by Grayzel’s lawyer, Scott Carlson, calls for examining the mail-in votes — more than 500 were cast in the weeks preceding Nov. 4 — and ensuring that nobody used mail-in ballots to vote more than once.
Additionally, the order authorizes scrutiny of rejected mail-in votes to determine if they were excluded for proper reasons.
If the present outcome holds, Grayzel contends, half of the township’s voters will lose representation.
A recount request also has been granted for Ward Two in Boonton, where incumbent Democrat Robert Tullock trails Republican challenger Doris A. Kuhn Yanez by a slim margin.
