BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
WESTWOOD, N.J.—Two-term Republican incumbent Councilman Ray Arroyo, who lost to Democratic Councilman-elect James Whelan by one vote, is challenging the election.
He said his team had “identified a good number of votes…cast by voters who were seemingly ineligible to vote in the Borough of Westwood.”
Arroyo told Pascack Press he is not alleging election fraud but rather is looking into whether mail-in voters “made innocent mistakes” stemming from election rule changes Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed this year.
Arroyo, down by four votes after the Nov. 6 election, requested a recount and still lost—by a single vote.
He was given 10 days to challenge the election, with time running out Dec. 21.
On Dec. 18, Arroyo petitioned for a state Superior Court judge to examine the residency of those who cast mail-in ballots.
The Bergen County Clerk’s office said Westwood saw 515 mail-in ballots cast, including 256 for Whelan and 231 for Arroyo.
There were 94 provisional ballots cast in the borough, including 44 for Whelan and 45 for Arroyo.
On a 70 percent voter turnout, Whelan bumped Arroyo, 2403-2402.
On Election Day, Democratic challenger Jodi Murphy defeated Republican incumbent Alyssa Dawson, 2,604 to 2,295, sweeping the “Always Westwood” team.
One Westwood voter lodged a personal choice write-in ballot in the election.
On Dec. 19, Arroyo told Pascack Press there were additional things he wanted to explore with the judge. Asked for specifics, he declined, saying, “I’m not going to try my case with you.”
On Dec. 18, Arroyo posted, “It would be much easier for myself and my family to ignore these suspect ballots. It would be easier to accept the election result, move on and find other ways to serve our wonderful town.”
Instead, he said, “I have been urged by many residents to press on, have these ballots examined by competent authority, and ensure the election outcome is one that the voters of Westwood can trust.”
He added, “This is not a knock on my opponent. It’s about the process in which we both participated.”
Whelan said on Dec. 19 that he doesn’t have much to add.“This is Ray’s decision. I’m going to let him speak for it,” Whelan said.
In August, Gov. Murphy signed a law automatically directing vote-by-mail ballots to voters if that’s how they cast their ballots in the 2016 election.
These voters will continue to get ballots by mail for every election unless they opt out in writing with their county clerk.
Proponents said the rule would enfranchise voters; critics said it would lead to confusion.
