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December 5, 2006

Ruling delays review of E. Providence mail ballots

PROVIDENCE -- In yet another court hearing related to the East Providence City Council race, Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato ruled today that the state Board of Elections must photocopy hundreds of East Providence mail ballots.

The board was prepared to go through thousands of mail ballots tomorrow to isolate the East Providence ballots. But the candidate trailing in the race, Mayor Joseph Larisa Jr., requested an emergency hearing today, fearing that he wouldn't have proper access to the ballots.

Fortunato ruled today -- again, over the objection of the Board of Elections -- that the board must photocopy the East Providence mail ballots for public inspection once they've been isolated.

Judge Fortunato described the request as reasonable, and he said that “democracy requires that we slow things down” in the interest of fairness and accuracy in Larisa’s challenge to the vote count, according to court spokesman Craig Berke.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from Journal staff writer Alisha A. Pina

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 7:00 PM | Permalink

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