In light of the unofficial election results for the Special Election for Rye City Council, putting just 18 votes between contenders Jana Seitz and Josh Nathan, the Jana Seitz for Rye Committee called for a careful and accurate counting of the more than 140 outstanding absentee ballots. Absentee ballot results were not included in the unofficial results posted by the Westchester County Board of Election.  

Under NY State election law, absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the Board of Election no more than one week later. In light of this provision, it is likely that the total number of absentee ballots will be greater than the unofficial count of 140 received by the Board of Elections as of October 31.

The special election was a consequence of the early resignation of former Rye City Council member Pam Tarlow. The City of Rye called for a special election to fulfill the remaining two years of Ms. Tarlow’s term.

Commenting on the race Jana Seitz said, “First, I want to commend all of the candidates who ran in this year’s election, both for Mayor and Council. Having gone through my first campaign I can share first-hand that it is a challenging undertaking but had its many rewards – particularly the opportunity to meet and get to know the people of our great community on such a personal level.

“I also want to congratulate my running mate Bill Henderson for a well-deserved victory. He will be a great addition to the City Council.”

Seitz continued, “For my own race, I want to say well done to Josh Nathan on his efforts, but also to say that the fight is far from over. With only 18 votes separating Josh and myself and more than 140 absentee ballots to be counted, this contest has a few more rounds to go. I am calling for an accurate count of each and every legally submitted absentee ballot to make the final determination. I think the voters of Rye deserve no less.”