BFF-12 Republican wins final unresolved US election race

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ZCZC

BFF-12

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS

Republican wins final unresolved US election race

NEW YORK, Feb 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The final unresolved race of the US
election was brought to a conclusion Monday, three months after polling day
and over a month since most lawmakers were sworn into Congress.

New York’s elections board certified Republican Claudia Tenney as the
winner of the state’s 22nd congressional district over Democrat Anthony
Brindisi.

She becomes the final member of the 435-seat lower chamber after months of
wrangling over the vote count.

A judge on Friday ordered the New York State Board of Elections to certify
a count that put Tenney just 109 votes ahead of Brindisi out of 300,000
ballots cast.

Brindisi, who had won the seat from Tenney in 2018, tweeted that he was
“shocked,” insisting that a “full audit and hand recount is the only way to
resolve this race.”

He had claimed there were problems with the way local authorities conducted
the election, notably one county’s failure to process 2,400 voting
applications.

But the New York judge disagreed with him, and on Monday Brindisi conceded.

“It is time to close the book on this election and focus on building a
better community and more united country for our children,” Brindisi said in
a statement.

The dispute was one of many legal battles that dogged the November 3
presidential and legislative elections after many voters cast ballots in
advance or by mail due to the pandemic.

Former president Donald Trump and many Republicans alleged massive fraud,
of which no evidence was found by multiple courts.

Most representatives were swore in to the 117th Congress by House speaker
Nancy Pelosi on January 3, three days before a mob of Trump supporters
stormed the US Capitol.

Democrats control the House by 221 to 210 Republicans before Tenney is
sworn in.

They also control the US Senate under new President Joe Biden. The upper
chamber is deadlocked at 50 members each but Vice President Kamala Harris
enjoys a tie-breaking vote.

BSS/AFP/GMR/0928 hrs