More than 4,000 voters in Ontario County cast their ballots in the June 24 primary, but official results are still pending as election officials work to count remaining mail-in and affidavit ballots.
According to the Ontario County Board of Elections, the preliminary results released after polls closed reflect nearly all in-person votes and most of the ballots submitted by mail, including Early Vote by Mail, Absentee, Military, and overseas ballots.
In one of the most closely watched races, challenger Jason MacBride leads two-term District Attorney James Ritts by 115 votes in the Republican primary, 2,179 to 2,064. MacBride holds 51.3 percent of the vote to Ritts’ 48.6 percent. Ritts has not conceded. “It is too early to concede the race, as we should wait for any standard review procedures by the Board of Elections, as well as additional Absentee Ballots to be received by mail in the coming days,” he said in a statement.
Final results will not be certified until all eligible mail-in ballots are counted and affidavit ballots are verified. As of June 25, election officials reported receiving 276 mail-in ballots—14 from Democratic voters and 262 from Republicans—with another 361 still outstanding. Ballots postmarked by June 24 will be accepted through July 1.
Several other local contests drew strong voter turnout. In Gorham, Chase Brown and Philip Curtis won nominations to the Town Board, finishing ahead of Brian Lazarus. In Farmington, Sean Murphy edged Martin Halpin by seven votes to become the Republican nominee for Highway Superintendent. Phelps saw Bill Wellman defeat Douglas Smith for town supervisor, while Philip Frere Jr. won the highway superintendent primary over William Poormon.
Across the region, absentee ballots still need to be counted before results are certified. Per state law, any race with a margin narrower than 0.5% or fewer than 20 votes will trigger a full manual recount, which will not begin before the week of July 14.
“We appreciate the public’s patience as we complete this process,” the Ontario County Board stated.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.