"More to Come" in Ocean City Council Race

By MADDY VITALE When the polls closed Tuesday night in Ocean City’s municipal election, it seemed almost certain that some of the candidates would retain or win terms on City Council. But not so with the race for the Third Ward Council seat held by incumbent Jody Levchuk. The sliver of a margin between him and his challenger, Amie Vaules, couldn’t get much smaller. Two votes separated them at the end of Election Night, with Levchuk receiving 391 votes in the unofficial totals and Vaules garnering 389. “There is more to come, so hang in there,” said Cape May County Clerk Rita M. Rothberg. Rothberg explained in an interview Wednesday that there are still votes to be counted in the race and that anything is possible. Not included in the unofficial election results are mail-in ballots mailed on or before Election Day but not yet received, vote-by-mail ballots for which “cure letters” have been issued and provisional ballots, according to the official website capemaycountyvotes.com. “The election is not over. May 21 is the last deadline on the timeline before the Ocean City clerk canvasses the election. There are cure letters out there to voters who may remedy their ballot certification by the end of business on May 21,” Rothberg emphasized. She noted that there are other ballots to be counted. “There are about 47 provisional ballots pending the deadline for receipt of timely ballots, which is May 20," Rothberg said. "I learned today that there are seven cure letters pending and 50 to 60 mail-in ballots were being processed today.” Third Ward Councilman and City Clerk Melissa Rasner discuss the vote totals in the close race. All of the mail-in ballots that come in must be reviewed and tallied before any provisional ballots may be added to the tally, she pointed out. “We are not close to a result just yet. My advice to everyone is to hang in there,” Rothberg said. “The County Board of Elections is working systematically and carefully.” On Tuesday night, after it was clear that the election for the Third Ward seat was too close to call, Levchuk and Vaules both seemed optimistic that they would prevail. “I’m feeling really good right now. This is to be continued,” Levchuk said. Vaules noted that there were still additional provisional and mail-in ballots to be counted. She expressed confidence that she would be able to overcome her two-vote deficit. Overall, voter turnout was a little over 33 percent among the city’s 9,490 registered voters. First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. ran unopposed to retain his seat. The other unofficial Council winners were former Councilman Keith Hartzell for the Second Ward seat and Fourth Ward incumbent Councilman Dave Winslow. Political newcomer Sean Barnes won the at-large Council seat in unofficial vote totals. The unofficial election results include vote-by-mail ballots received by the Board of Elections before the polls closed and the Election Day voting machine tally. The official results will be posted on May 22 and on May 23 the city clerk will certify the election. Third Ward candidate Amie Vaules turns in her nominating petitions in March.