FREEHOLD — A recount of the November 2022 local election votes in Belmar and three other Monmouth County municipalities awaits an expected court order, following what election officials described as a “human procedural error” in election system software caused a “duplication of results.”
According to a statement released by county and state officials, a discrepancy on the voter tallies was detected in the four municipalities, including Belmar, with an election outcome in only one, Ocean Township, impacted by the error.
The new voter tallies showed discrepancies in six of the 466 districts of Monmouth County: Belmar, Fair Haven, Ocean Township, and Tinton Falls,” according to the county election offices.
Jim Bean, a former Belmar borough councilman, said last week that he discovered an apparent double count of 311 votes in results reported by the county for the borough’s November 2022 mayoral race and notified Monmouth Council elections officials.
The county elections board had reported that 2,512 votes were cast overall, but separate vote counts for the two candidates on the ballot totaled 2,823. A single write-in vote was also reported, bringing the total reported vote count to 2,824.
The November election resulted in a change of administration in Belmar, with Democrat Gerald A. Buccafusco unseating Republican Mayor Mark Walsifer, 1,467 to 1,356.
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