Ocean City election dispute headed to court

For now, a mere two votes – 402 to 400 – separate Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk from his opponent, Amie Vaules, in Ocean City’s May 14 municipal election.

Levchuk has declared himself the winner, but a Superior Court judge is expected to decide the final outcome of the election following a legal challenge by Vaules focusing on three contested votes.

According to her lawsuit, Vaules contends that two mail-in votes believed to be in her favor were improperly rejected by the Cape May County Board of Elections and a third vote should have been disqualified.

The vote that Vaules maintains should have been disqualified was cast by Levchuk’s brother, Randy. The lawsuit alleges that Randy Levchuk actually resides in Kenilworth, Union County, and should not have voted in the Ocean City election.

“Upon information and belief, Randy Levchuk voted for his brother Jody Levchuk and such vote should not be counted,” the suit says.

Jody Levchuk disputed the allegations against his brother. He said Randy has a long history of living in Ocean City and voting in the local elections.

“My brother is domicile to Ocean City and has lived and voted here all of his life. He always will,” Levchuk said in an interview Tuesday.

Levchuk said he “absolutely” considers himself to be the election winner and intends to take the oath of office for his second four-year term when City Council holds its annual reorganization meeting July 1.

“My friends and family will be flying in for this,” he said of his swearing-in ceremony.

    Councilman Jody Levchuk says he is "absolutely" the election winner.
  

Vaules declined to comment Tuesday, referring questions to her attorney, Paul Baldini.

“I’m not sure that I can comment on it because it’s up to the judge,” Vaules said.

In an interview, Baldini said Levchuk may be sworn into office on July 1, but could be forced to step down later if the court rules that the election was actually won by Vaules following scrutiny of the three contested votes.

“If the judge declares my client the winner of the election, then it’s her seat,” Baldini said.

Superior Court Judge Michael Blee ruled Monday that he was “satisfied” there are grounds to examine the three contested votes to determine the election outcome. Blee scheduled a July 23 hearing, but Levchuk may ask for an earlier date by petitioning the court, Baldini said.

Baldini explained that Vaules is not requesting a recount of the vote totals. The 402-400 vote tally in favor of Levchuk has already been certified by the Cape May County Board of Elections and Ocean City Clerk’s Office.

Instead, Vaules is seeking court approval to count two mail-in votes she believes are in her favor – but were rejected by the Board of Elections – and to have Randy Levchuk’s vote for his brother thrown out, Baldini said.

Baldini also said that the Vaules camp intends to conduct an investigation of Randy Levchuk’s residency and voting history to determine whether he is from Ocean City or Kenilworth.

“If he’s not domiciled in Ocean City, he can’t vote in Ocean City,” Baldini said.

    Amie Vaules is accompanied by her husband, Michael, when she turned in her nominating petitions in February. (Photo courtesy of Amie Vaules)
  

Jody Levchuk pointed out that the Board of Elections  already certified him as the winner. He said Vaules has the right to challenge the election results, but he called her lawsuit nothing more than allegations.

To overcome her two-vote deficit and win the election, Vaules would need the judge to throw out Randy Levchuk’s vote and allow two mail-in votes that were rejected to be counted.

Vaules’ litigation said the two rejected mail-in votes were, “upon information and belief,” cast in Vaules’ favor.

One vote was rejected by the Board of Elections for failure to respond to a cure letter. A cure letter notifies a voter of a problem with their mail-in ballot and gives them an opportunity to “cure” the defect.

The other contested mail-in vote was rejected by the Board of Elections because it supposedly was not received in time.

However, the suit contends that the two disputed mail-in votes were properly cast and should be counted.

In addition to the Levchuk-Vaules race in the Third Ward, the May 14 City Council election included Sean Barnes winning an at-large seat, incumbent Terry Crowley Jr. winning in the First Ward, Keith Hartzell winning in the Second Ward and incumbent Dave Winslow winning in the Fourth Ward. No other races are being contested.