Human error delayed Lawrence School Board tally

The end was as anticlimactic as the controversy was stimulating.

In a Lawrence High School guidance room, Board of Education President Dr. Asher Mansdorf read off the results of the May 21 budget vote on May 30.

Tova Plaut, who had 426 fewer votes than Jesse Lunin-Pack after the first vote count on Election Night, was officially declared the winner by 37 votes — 1,647 to 1,610 — after two election recounts. Dov Herman finished with 840 votes in the three-way race. Plaut will replace Dr. Solomon Blisko on the board. He declined to run for re-election.

Lawrence school district officials admitted it was human error that initiated the recounts. When the votes were reported, the third digit was dropped twice when Plaut’s voting totals were recorded; 255 and 258 both became 25.

After the voting machines were impounded and taken to the Nassau County Board of Elections in Mineola, the first recount was conducted on May 22. A second recount was done two days later and paper ballots were reviewed on May 28. The district rents the machines from the Board of Elections, but recounts are the jurisdiction of the school district.

“The recanvassing was very detailed and done very, very carefully,” said Al D’Agostino, the attorney for Lawrence, who oversaw the recounts, along with other district officials and representatives from both the Plaut and Lunin-Pack campaigns.

At the board meeting, Lunin-Pack was permitted to make a statement and the Atlantic Beach resident took the opportunity to congratulate his opponent, but also called on the district to review why the mistake occurred and fix the problem.

“While I understand what the mistake was on Election Night, I reiterate that I do not understand how it was allowed to happen,” he said. “The Lawrence community must have the utmost confidence in the integrity of elections. I call upon the board to investigate this thoroughly, and to report back to the community what went wrong, and the steps put in place to make sure this can never happen again. I look forward to helping with that process in any way I can.”

Human error may never be totally eliminated from the process, but D’Agostino recommended that one possible control is having two people checking the reported numbers from each machine. “The numbers are very small, but reading them a second time could help,” he said.

Plaut, who also read a statement at the May 30 meeting, said she was very excited about serving on the board. “I will always work to ensure that the children receive the services they deserve,” she said.

In addition to Plaut, Michael Hatten, who defeated incumbent Rabbi Nahum Marcus, will also join the board. Longtime Trustee Dr. David Sussman, who ran unopposed, was re-elected.

Having run for election and re-election, Mansdorf said he understands the stress created by waiting for results.

He said that both Plaut and Lunin-Pack should be applauded for their behavior during the recounts. “You handled it with grace and dignity that should serve as an example to the greater community,” Mansdorf said.

Jeffrey Bessen is editor of the Nassau Herald, where this story first appeared.