Judge rules Republican Tenney won last open US House race

A New York judge ruled Friday that Republican Claudia Tenney defeated U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in the nation’s last undecided congressional race

Election 2020-House-New York (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A New York judge ruled Friday that Republican Claudia Tenney defeated U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in the nation's last undecided congressional race.

The ruling by Judge Scott DelConte could clear the way for Tenney to be sworn in as the representative for central New York's 22nd Congressional District, barring emergency intervention by a state appeals court.

She previously was the district's representative for one term, until she was defeated by Brindisi, a Democrat, in 2018.

DelConte's ruling came after he spent three months reviewing ballot challenges and trying to fix a myriad of problems with vote tabulation. He rejected an argument by Brindisi's lawyers that certification of the election results be delayed until an appeals court had a chance to review the case.

DelConte's order directed New York to certify results immediately.

The judge said even if the results end up changing after any litigation, New York could simply amend its certification. He issued his ruling hours after a last public hearing, in which he told Brindisi's lawyers that he was disinclined to delay the results any further.

“I’ve been asked to stop this election ... and that’s a very very high burden,” he said.

Tenney has maintained a small lead even as months of litigation revealed problems with ballots that either weren’t counted properly or were improperly rejected. Tallies have shifted as county election officials counted a flood of absentee ballots and courts weighed in on which challenged ballots could be counted.

Brindisi had argued that once the election gets certified and Tenney is sworn in, only Congress has the power to remove her, not the courts.