Paper Ballots Being Counted in 20th Congressional Race

(Ballston Spa, N.Y.) It's just a matter of time now before we find out who the winner is of the 20th Congressional Race. The counting of those 10,000 absentee ballots started today, on the same day where the tally changed again after a machine re-canvassing in some counties in the district.

Here's the tally, without the absentees, according to the State Board of Elections. Republican Jim Tedisco is leading Democrat Scott Murphy by 17 points. That's the same margin as Tuesday, but both candidates have gained one vote. Of course those numbers will change again when the absentee ballots are all counted. In Saratoga County, elections officials and campaign counsel began opening the 1,800 paper ballots at 10:00 this morning. Due to the amount and the number of objections by campaign attorneys, it appears the process will be a slow one. James Walsh, Legal Counsel for the Tedsico Campaign said: "I've been very optimistic about what's happening here, but there are 10 boards of elections going and the process is slow. Again we're just trying to make sure that the process is orderly, accurate and that the process is fair." Saratoga County Democratic Commissioner of Elections, William Frucci said: "If it's objected to, it gets set aside for a period of three days or pending a court order for that particular ballot."

A Supreme Court Judge ordered that all counties begin counting local absentees Wednesday. There will be another meeting on April 13th to discuss the counting of the oversees ballots.