Ordway said to have won primary election for sheriff
By JUSTIN HEAD GATEHOUSE MEDIA

BATH — Joel Ordway is the winner of the Republican Party primary for Steuben County sheriff, sources requesting they not be identified told the media last week after absentee ballots were counted Wednesday.

However, county Board of Elections officials would neither confirm or deny information from sources that placed Ordway with a 68-vote lead over Undersheriff Dave Cole.

According to the sources, cited Thursday in the Hornell Evening Tribune, Ordway received 134 absentee ballot votes, Cole received 135 absentee ballot votes and Steuben County Center for Dispute Settlement Director James Waight received 82 absentee ballot votes. Ordway's overall lead reportedly dropped by only one vote from the second set of results released by election officials following a review of election night figures that initially had Cole in the lead.

Originally, election officials said Cole had won the primary by 158 votes. Ordway heard from a reporter that some of his votes were not recorded and those errors were confirmed after the vote totals from election districts were recanvassed last week. Human error was then blamed for miscalculations in five districts, including one in the Town of Canisteo and another in Rathbone.

Ordway then hired Hornell attorney William Pulos to bring those errors and the process for reviewing absentee ballots before Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Marianne Furfure. Furfure ordered the voting machines to "not be interfered with in any way," mandated absentee counting to remain at the Board of Elections office and implemented a counting process that carefully scrutinized each absentee ballot.

At first, Cole received 2,952 votes, with Ordway close behind at 2,794 votes and Waight in last with 2,298 votes. Waight conceded the election immediately after these results. After Ordway's initial challenge, the Board of Elections issued new results, giving Ordway 3,084 votes, with Cole in second at 3,015 and Waight in last with 2,211. Ordway was given a 69-vote lead over Cole after the recanvassing.

At press time Friday, the Board of Elections was in the process of finalizing its vote count. County Attorney Frederick Ahrens had requested that all involved with the absentee ballot count keep information private until released by Board of Elections officials.

Severa sources , however, had that information Thursday morning.

Ordway refused to confirm the new vote totals and issued a press release through Pulos in which he said, "I know what the latest results are, but I don't want to make any comment until the board does."