For Nassau Candidates In Uncalled Races, 'Like Waiting On A Jury'

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — The 2020 election cycle in New York looks like a scene from the film "Groundhog Day." With Election Day now three days old, Long Islanders still don't know who their president will be in 2021, and nearly all do not know which candidates won the races for state Legislature.

As Patch previously reported, Nassau County received a massive number of mail-in ballots, and more were still trickling in days after Nov. 3. Nassau has about 1.1 million registered voters, and the county received more than 144,000 absentee ballots. To boot, ballots received before Nov. 10 can still be counted.

Because of that, most races have yet to be called.

Several candidates talked to Patch about their thoughts on the unique election cycle and what it's like waiting in limbo this year. Many decried partisan division, others lamented anxiety and uncertainty brought on by waiting until weeks after Nov.3 to call the race. One said he was concerned about ensuring every vote was counted once, and another said the state should look into adding more early voting locations. A third said she's pressing forward with preparing for 2021, despite thousands of votes remaining uncounted.

Here's what 2020 candidates have to say.

Michael Montesano, Republican in Assembly District 15

Incumbent Republican Assemblyman Michael Montesano said he felt the election went well overall, considering the coronavirus and inclement weather on Long Island.

"I think it went well," he told Patch in a phone interview Thursday. "I think the early voting is still a learning experience for us. It went well during the primary, but this time the turnout was substantially higher. So, I think it was a learning experience, a learning curve we're going to have at the board of elections."

Nassau County may need to look into adding machines and locations for early voting, Montesano said.

"For the North Shore, the only location they had was in Roslyn. So if somebody from Bayville, Centre Island wanted to vote, they had to drive all the way to Roslyn. And that creates a backlog."

At Montesano's voting location, over 100 people waited in line at 6:15 a.m. Three hours later, there was no line.

The Assemblyman said he's feeling comfortable and optimistic with his lead, knowing the existing total and the party breakdown of the outstanding absentee ballots. He expressed dismay that it will take a week after Election Day for the ballots to be opened under state law, and possibly another week to count them.

"It gives people a lot of uncertainty, a lot of anxiety. I wish there was a different way. But since we had such a large emotion on people using absentee ballots, this is just the effect of it."

Joe Sackman, Democrat in Assembly District 15

Joe Sackman, the Democratic challenger in Assembly District 15, told Patch in an email Thursday that he feels partisan politics holds too much sway in the discourse. He shared a quote from the nation's first president, George Washington, warning about the dangers of becoming too partisan.

"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Sackman said his campaign tried to stick to the issues and share facts about his opponent. He feels they did a good job of that.

"Every vote must be counted. I am patiently waiting to see the final tally. I thank everyone who volunteered and supported my campaign for Assembly. I look forward to serving the community in whatever way I can," Sackman said.

Anna Kaplan, Democrat in Senate District 7

Incumbent Democratic state Sen. Anna Kaplan is moving ahead with preparing for the next Senate session in January, Sean Ross Collins, director of communications for Kaplan, told Patch in a phone interview Thursday. That's based on her team's analysis of the existing vote count and estimation of the party breakdown for the votes still to be counted.

"Waiting in limbo isn't really a luxury any of us have right now, with so many urgent and pressing issues facing the community," Collins said." We've already been up and running. We're working on getting stuff ready for the upcoming January session."

He added: "We are full steam ahead making sure we get peoples' business done because, frankly, none of us can afford to take a couple weeks off while the votes are counted."

Ed Smyth, Republican Senate District 5

Ed Smyth, the Republican challenger in state Senate District 5, said that first and foremost, he wants to ensure every vote is counted, and ensure that they're counted once. While he has no reason to be concerned about widespread voter fraud conspiracy theories, Smyth said it's important that people aren't voting in, say, Florida and New York, and to ensure they aren't casting both absentee ballots and as well as ballots on Election Day.

"I think that this particular year with coronavirus in play, that so many people voted by absentee ballot, and then many of them turned out to the polls as well on Election Day, essentially, for whatever reason ... it was an insurance policy, they didn't have faith in the mail system, or for a variety of reasons, a lot of voters mailed in their ballot and turned up on Election Day. Or in early voting."

Smyth said the wait for the results is a familiar one. As a practicing attorney for more than two decades, he's stood outside with other attorneys and families waiting for verdicts.

"This is like waiting on a jury," he said. "The case is fully submitted. There's no more persuasion. You've done your opening argument. You've presented all your evidence. You've made your closing argument. The judge charges the jury and says go into the jury room and deliberate. Now everybody's out in the hallway, all the parties are out in the hallway pacing, waiting for the bell to ring for the jury to come back with a verdict."

Andrew Garbarino, Republican in 2nd Congressional District

Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino, a Republican running for the 2nd Congressional District, said in a statement that while more votes will be counted, he was confident we would be named the winner. He did not comment on what it was like waiting for the results.

Garbarino said that many hurdles lie ahead as a neighborhood and nation, and he warned against further political division.

"We must come together to solve these important issues as one community — not allow ourselves to continue to divide on political party lines. Of course everyone won’t agree on everything all the time, and that’s okay. Taking different ideas and perspectives into consideration is important to efficiently and effectively find solutions to the problems we face."

Jackie Gordon, Democrat in 2nd Congressional District

A spokesman for Jackie Gordon, the Democrat running for the 2nd Congressional District, said in a statement that many votes remain uncounted.

"With the unprecedented number of Long Islanders casting absentee ballots this year, it is clear that this election will not be called anytime soon. To certify the results of this election, every vote must be counted, and we look forward to seeing the final results."

Chuck Lavine, Democrat for Assembly District 13

Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Chuck Lavine said in a statement that it's important to wait for the votes to be counted after record numbers of Americans voted.

"Yesterday’s historic election was unique in that in included voting by mail, in person early voting and voting on election day," he said. "We must and we will remain patient as all the votes are counted."

Lavine added: "As patriotic Americans and New Yorkers, it is critically important for us to recognize that no matter who wins any given election, we will continue to respect and honor our electoral process."

When asked specifically about his thoughts on waiting in limbo, Lavine said: "Deep in our hearts, we Americans believe that our votes must be counted. We must therefore practice patience and grace as we wait for the results to be calculated."

Gina Sillitti, Democrat in Assembly District 16

Gina Sillitti, the Democrat running for Assembly District 16, told Patch in a statement that it has been an "unprecedented campaign season." She said it was unsurprising that everyone must wait for vote totals, but that she's confident she will be elected, despite trailing in the tight race.

"While I’m down on the Election Day’s machine count, thousands more Democrats voted by absentee in advance. I am confident that once all the votes are counted, I will be the next Assemblywoman for the 16th District. I trust the process completely and look forward to celebrating in a few weeks."

George A. D. Santos, Republican in 3rd Congressional District

George Santos, the Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, called the outcome of the race unsurprising, and said he's confident he'll win once all the votes are in.

"I am so thankful for the wonderful support I've received from those in my district," Santos said. "'Experts' thought I was the underdog in this race, but my campaign staff and team always knew my victory would be possible given our platform and message. I am not surprised by the current outcome of the race and am confident that after every valid vote is counted, I will prevail."