Clerk: Illegal Voting Should Render Election Invalid

In a legal brief filed Wednesday with Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas L. Weisenbeck, Morris County Counsel Daniel O’Mullen said based on the illegal voting practices evident in Parsippany during the  Republican freeholder primary, “the entire election may be set aside.”

O’Mullen, who filed the memorandum of law on behalf of Morris County Clerk Joan Bramhall, who must prepare for the Nov. 8 general election, wrote, “the illegal practice in Parsippany renders the entire result in Parsippany, and in fact, the final results for the entire county, uncertain and unclear.”

The June primary, whose tally has gone through a recount and election contest, left challenger William “Hank” Lyon with a six-vote lead over incumbent Margaret Nordstrom.

Weisenbeck on Wednesday dispensed with the final motions of the case filed by attorney Sean Connelly, representing Lyon, and Alan Zakin, representing Nordstrom.

The judge also denied Connelly’s attempt to have James Carroll, a professor and certified public accountant, admitted as an expert witness in statistics.

The attorneys will make their closing arguments Thursday at 9 a.m., and Weisenbeck  will issue a written decision early next week.

The trial over Nordstrom’s petition contesting the election brought to light election practices that resulted in 12 Parsippany residents testifying that they did not cast the ballots that were counted under their names, and raised concerns about the validity of at least 32 others handled by a “bearer,” a person working for a political party whose job is to delivery completed absentee ballots to the country clerk’s office.

O’Mullen’s memorandum on this issue, concluded, “all 32 ballots ought to be ruled illegal.”

The memorandum also said, “Whether this practice is the result of deliberate fraud or pooled ignorance, it can clearly be inferred that this illegal practice contaminated mail-in ballots beyond District 19 to the entire municipality of Parsippany.”

The trial also brought to light charges by Nordstrom that Lyon’s father, Robert Lyon, the campaign treasurer, made an illegal campaign contribution well in excess of the $2,000 limit for individual contributions, and that Lyon did not file a 48-hour campaign finance report, as required.

Nordstrom claimed that the failure to file the report gave her the impression that Lyon had no substantial funds to spend in the last days of the election and she altered her campaign as a result.

The judge, if he agrees with Nordstrom’s allegations, can declare Lyon’s victory null and void, and could call for a special election.

Bramhall, through O’Mullen, argues in the memorandum, that there is another remedy in the law. If the election, in this case a Republican Party primary, is declared void, the results could be turned over to the Morris County Republican Committee, which could select a winner.

Bramhall in the memorandum argued that there is not enough time to prepare for a special election and the general election because state law sets specific time frames for certain action.

The time constraints include: Notice of the availability of mail-in ballots must be published at least 55 days before the general election, or Sept. 14. Bramhall based her conclusion on the assumption that the trial would end at the earliest on Friday.

Also, she must deliver mail-in ballots to the post office no later than 45 days before the election date of Nov. 8, or  Sept. 24. The clerk also must have the ballots to the printer no later than 50 days before the election. Before that can happen, the ballots must be reviewed and approved by both the county and municipal clerks.