By Nelson A. King
The Brooklyn Democratic
Party has set the count for
two tight races in the southern
part of the borough, stating
that while election celebrations
erupted over the weekend and a
new page has been turned in the
nation’s history, there’s still work
to be done.
“The soul of the nation can
rest easier, but our work is not
over,” said Brooklyn Democratic
Party Chair Assemblymember
Rodneyse Bichotte.
“Today, we must transition
our enthusiasm and support into
counting votes in two critical
races in southern Brooklyn for
state Sen. Andrew Gounardes
(SD-22) and Assemblymember
Mathylde Frontus (AD-46),”
added Bichotte, who represents
the 42nd Assembly District in
Brooklyn. “We are confident that,
once all the votes are counted,
our Democratic candidates will
emerge victorious.”
Bichotte said the Brooklyn
Democratic Party, together with
the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee (DSCC), has
assembled “a robust team of volunteers,”
Caribbean Life, N 8 ovember 13-19, 2020
including members of
political clubs and specialized
election attorneys, to help count
votes in the two races in southern
Brooklyn.
In Sen. Gounardes’ race,
Bichotte said tens of thousands
of mail-in ballots have not been
counted, processed or received.
She said the New York City
Board of Elections will begin
counting mail-in ballots this
week.
“There are over 19,000 votes
yet to be counted in my district,
and I will ensure that every vote
is counted,” said Sen. Gounardes.
“I thank the Brooklyn Democratic
Party for their support,
and look forward to getting this
important process underway as
soon as possible.”
Bichotte said the 22nd Senatorial
District – which includes
Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst,
Bath Beach, Gravesend,
Marine Park and Gerritsen
Beach – is severely gerrymandered.
Despite the configuration of
the district, she said the people
brought an end to two decades
of Republican leadership there
in 2018, when they declared
Gounardes the winner of that
election in what was also a hardfought
race.
“The people of the 22nd District
have stood up before to
demand leadership that reflects
their values, and that is what we
will see again, once all the votes
are counted,” said Bichotte.
Despite preliminary results
from the New York State Board
of Elections (BOE) Election
night showing that Haitian
American Frontus lost to newcomer
Republican Mark Szuszkiewicz’
in the 46th Assembly
District, Frontus is still holding
out hope that she could eventually
be declared the winner.
“I received so many calls and
text messages today about my
race,” said Frontus, the daughter
of Haitian immigrants in a statement.
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte. Corazon
Aguirre
“I’d like to clarify that the
results for the 46th district have
not been finalized.
“As you can see, my Republican
opponent did receive 2,882
more in-person votes than I did.
However, there are thousands of
absentee ballots which have to
be counted,” she added, pointing
to preliminary data from the
BOE revealing that most absentee
ballots for the 46th district
were requested by Democratic
voters.
“It is, therefore, within the
realm of possibility that I can
still end up with more votes than
my opponent,” Frontus continued.
“Either way, we must wait
until every single vote is counted
before we can say with certainty
who won the race.”
Brooklyn Democrats set
count in two tight races
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