McLoughlin, Arresta Victors in Southampton Village Board Race Marked By Unprecedented Voter Turnout

An arduous and at times tense election night count on Tuesday bled into Wednesday morning, and it took until around 1:30 a.m. for Joseph McLoughlin and his running mate, Gina Arresta, to be declared victors in the race for Southampton Village Board.

A final, uncertified tally showed that Mr. McLoughlin amassed 938 votes, and Ms. Arresta garnered 868 votes. Community Party candidates Kimberly Allan and Zach Epley completed the race with 663 and 610 votes, respectively.

The conclusion of a contentious campaign saw unprecedented voter turnout. Stopping by the Southampton Cultural Center to observe the proceedings, outgoing Deputy Mayor Rich Yastrzemski took note of the numbers. An estimated 1,200 residents voted in person at the polls. Combined with 500 absentee ballots, that brought the total of ballots cast in the election to 1,700, out of about 3,000 registered voters in the village. The deputy mayor said, by his count, there were 2,800 registered voters in the village.

“You’re talking about a 50-, 60-percent turnout,” he said. “That’s crazy. I don’t know if there have ever been numbers like this.” He noted that both camps had undertaken energetic efforts to register new voters.

When the polls closed at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Mr. McLoughlin and Ms. Arresta boasted healthy leads in results tabulated from the voting machines, with some 500 absentee ballots yet to be counted. Mr. McLoughlin was the top vote-getter, with 681 votes. Ms. Arresta, was the second-highest vote-getter, with 615 votes. Ms. Allan garnered 514 votes, and Mr. Epley received 466.

“The voters have spoken,” Ms. Allan said, sensing pending defeat as Tuesday night turned to Wednesday morning. “We wish the new board success and the ability to fulfill their promises.”

It was exciting to see so many new voters come on the scene, she said, adding, “I hope they stay involved.”

Mr. McLoughlin said the day had been a roller-coaster ride for him. “I didn’t expect to win by so much,” he said. “I’m honored to have been selected to be a village trustee.” Looking back on Election Night 2019, when he lost by a narrow margin, he added, “I feel vindicated.”

Setting up to begin the absentee ballot count took 20 minutes, as candidates, their representatives, and attorneys all took seats behind a Plexiglas shield at a long table. A Village Police officer observed the proceedings, while another stood guard outside. Behind the shield were four election workers, plus an attorney for the village.

The process was: One called out a name, the next verified it was on the absentee list. Next, attorneys for the candidates were shown the ballots and decided whether to object or accept. If the parties all agreed to a ballot, Village Clerk Russell Kratoville entered the vote.

Within 10 minutes, attorney Larry Silverman, representing Mr. McLoughlin and Ms. Arresta, offered the first objection to a ballot. He claimed the signatures on the ballot and ballot application didn’t match. Election officials hadn’t gone through a dozen ballots before the first objection was raised.

Mr. Yastrzemski recalled that during the 2019 election, it took close to 90 minutes to count 100 absentee ballots. With 500 ballots to get through, the group gathered on two sides of the Plexiglas expected a long night.

As Mr. Silverman raised another objection, using the word “fraud,” Thomas Garry, attorney for the Epley/Allan camp said, “It’s torture to get to the position that none of these ballots are the official records of the village. The village runs the election. These are the records of the village. This is what we have. If there is fraud being perpetrated by someone, there’s a remedy and the remedy, with respect, is not in this room.”

“That’s true,” Mr. Silverman agreed. But, he said, speaking of a particular ballot coming from the Hamptons Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, “That, I don’t believe, is a valid signature.”

Mr. Garry asked, “Is it your clients’ position that fraud was perpetrated at the Hamptons Center en masse?”

“It may be that we can develop facts to show that there was coercion,” opposing counsel said.

The proceedings stopped as Mr. Silverman left to meet with his clients.

Returning, he asked to make a statement.

“I’ve been a lawyer for a long time, and sometimes I get too combative. And I was reflecting on what I said … I thought my comments were inappropriate … While I have concerns about some of the things that I thought I saw in connection with this election, I used the word ‘fraud,’ and I should not have done that. I have no evidence that any of the candidates, or anybody in the campaign, was responsible for that.”

Based on conversations privately, both attorneys withdrew objections they’d rendered and consented to the opening and counting of all the absentee ballots.

“People want to avoid the delay,” Mr. Silverman said, as another spate of waiting commenced for candidates, their representatives, and observers. Do the math, he suggested: After 50 ballots had been opened, four objections were raised. Following the ratio, there could be 40 objections out of the entire 500 ballots.

He later added, “Most ballots appear to be in order.”

At approximately 11 p.m., election inspectors began to open all the ballots.

The Village First Coalition candidates would continue to retain a substantial lead over their opponents.

By 12:12 a.m., 187 of 500 had been counted, adding 123 votes to Mr. McLoughlin’s tally, 121 to Ms. Arresta’s, 77 to Ms. Allan’s total, and 73 to Mr. Epley’s. Just after 1:30 a.m., final figures were ready.

Mayor Jesse Warren, who had campaigned for Mr. McLoughlin and Ms. Arresta, declined to offer a comment, preferring to wait until all the votes had been counted. “I’m looking forward to working with whoever wins,” he said, standing outside the Cultural Center just after midnight.