Politics & Government
Absentee Ballots Sway Council Primary Results in Favor of Peluso, Valori
44 provisional ballots still to be counted.
With the mail-in ballots from Tuesday night's Parsippany Township Council GOP primary election tallied and accounted for, the numbers seem to have swayed in favor of Robert Peluso and Louis Valori.
Initial poll numbers released by the Morris County Clerk put Michael Strumolo and incumbent Councilman Vincent Ferrara in the lead. But according to Parsippany-Troy Hills Municipal Clerk Yancy Wazirmas, Peluso received 542 mail-in ballots, putting him in first with 2,087 votes. Valori came in second with 538 mail-in ballots, bringing his total to 1,799, according to unofficial results.
Ferrara, who was initially leading, received 129 mail-in ballots, with a total of 1,730 votes, while Strumolo garnered 73 mail-in ballots totaling 1,712 votes. Candidate Milin Shah is trailing with 135 mail-in ballots and a total of 1,635 votes.
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With two council seats open, the winning pair will go on to face Democratic council candidates Robert Keller and Mihir Oza in the November election.
Incumbent Republican Mayor James Barberio remains the winner of the mayoral primary after receiving an additional 147 mail-ins, bringing his total to 2,507. Candidate Paul Carifi Jr. received 603 mail-in ballots, with a total of 2,418 votes, a difference of 89 votes.
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“I'm looking forward to running in the fall,” said Barberio after the numbers came out Tuesday night. “For now I'm going to digest the win, take some time off and get ready for next election. I want to thank all my supporters for having confidence in me.”
The numbers will remain unofficial until provisional ballots can be counted and the numbers can be certified. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 44 provisional ballots to be counted, according to Morris County Chief Deputy Superintendent of Elections Dale Kramer.
However, the 44 provisional ballots would not be enough to again sway the election, with Ferrara trailing by 69 votes.
The following are unofficial results from the Morris County Municipal Clerk's Office. The current numbers do not reflect provisional ballots.
Republican Primary Election Results
Parsippany Township Council Results
Candidate Initial Vote Count Mail-In Total Michael L. Strumolo 1,63973 1,712 Robert J. Peluso
1,545
542 2,087 Louis A. Valori
1,261
538 1,799 Vincent Ferrara
1,603
129 1,730 Milin Shah
1,500
135 1,635
Parsippany Mayor Results
Candidate Initial Vote Count Mail-In Total Paul Carifi Jr. 1,815 603 2,418 James R. Barberio 2,360 1472,507
Democratic Primary Election Results
Parsippany Township Council Results
Candidate Initial Vote Count Mail-In Total Robert "Bob" Keller702
18 720 Mihir Oza
683
16 699
Parsippany Mayor Results
Candidate Initial Vote Count Mail-In Total Jonathan Nelson 751 17 768Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
