Brindisi Ready to 'Close the Books' on 2020 Election

In an election race that dragged on for three months in court, former Congressman Anthony Brindisi says it's time to move forward and is congratulating Claudia Tenney.

Brindisi issued a statement today saying it has been the honor a lifetime to service his hometown and that he is proud of his accomplishments in Washington, and the ex-NY 22 Representative concludes, it is 'time to close the books on the election.'

The Utica Democrat, who won the seat from Tenney in the 2018, did highlight some of the issues that caused the election's outcome to linger into 2021, mentioning inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal in his statement. Among them, the fact that many legal voters were apparently turned away, leaving some constituents without a voice in the 2020 race. Brindisi called out the Oneida County Board of Elections specifically for 'ineptitude' on the voter registration issues. It was reported that some 2,500 voter registration forms in Oneida County went unprocessed, despite being filled out before the registration deadline. As noted by Syracuse.com, the likely meant eligible voters were told they could not case a ballot:

Those voters would have been told they weren’t registered when they arrived at the polling place. Hundreds of them likely walked away without voting, and many others went on to file affidavit ballots that were also not counted.

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Tenney, a Republican from New Hartford, was certified the winner of the race on Friday, having defeated Brindisi by 109 votes in a district that had more than 316,000 ballots cast.

Shortly after the turn of the new year, with other members of Congress from across the country being sworn-in, Brindisi said at the time, regardless of the outcome of the NY-22 count, he planned to run for the seat again in 2022.

The full statement from Brindisi is below:

“Today I congratulated Claudia Tenney and offered to make the transition process as smooth as possible on behalf of our community. I hope that she will be a Representative for all the people of this district, not just those that agree with her point of view, and work with members of both parties to heal the deep divisions that exist in our Country.
It has been the honor of a lifetime serving my hometown, the place I grew up and am raising my family. Unfortunately, this election and counting process was riddled with errors, inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal election laws. My one disappointment is that the Court did not see fit to grant us a recount. Sadly, we may never know how many legal voters were turned away at the polls or ballots not counted due to the ineptitude of the Boards of Election, especially in Oneida County. My hope is some authority steps in and investigates the massive disenfranchisement of voters that took place during this election.
I am proud of the accomplishments we have made together during the past two years. Whether it’s strengthening laws to support jobs here in upstate New York, working to help end the epidemic of veteran suicide or fighting to deliver resources to rural and underserved communities, I have always put politics aside and put the people first.
I want to thank my family, especially my wife Erica and two children, Anthony and Lily for their patience, love and support. I want to thank my excellent staff. I have been fortunate to work with some of the most dedicated and talented professionals in public service. I also want to thank my campaign team for their hard work and for sticking with me during this lengthy and complicated count. Finally, thank you to all of our volunteers and this community for giving me the opportunity to serve you in Congress.
It is time to close the book on this election and focus on building a better community and more united Country for our children.”