Judge denies Nate McMurray's request to impound ballots

A judge has denied an impoundment request by the Nate McMurray campaign, according to the Erie County Democratic Elections Commissioner.

Nate McMurray, the democratic candidate for New York's 27th Congressional District, had requested that ballots across the district be impounded Tuesday afternoon.

McMurray wanted all memory sticks and affidavits to be impounded, essentially meaning all votes would be kept sealed to ensure that all votes will be counted. According to Democratic Elections Commissioner Jeremy Zellner, the judge found no reason to indicate any problems with the voting process to necessitate an impoundment.

The impoundment request has been denied by a judge. @WKBW

— Hannah Buehler (@HannahBuehler) November 6, 2018

Dem. Elections Commissioner Zellner's office tells me Judge Ward denied that request. I'm told there's no reason to indicate anything has gone wrong with the voting process @WKBW

— Hannah Buehler (@HannahBuehler) November 6, 2018

Daniele de Groot, McMurray's campaign spokesperson issued this statement after the initial request was made:

“We have an opponent who’s indicted on 11 felony counts, reports of irregularities across the district, and polling that indicates a very close race. We want to protect the integrity of the voting process and make sure that every vote is counted.”

The announcement comes following reports of issues at some polling locations in Western New York.

The issue will be revisited by a judge on Friday if lawyers for Nate McMurray choose to proceed.

McMurray ran against incumbent Chris Collins. We have reached out to Collins' campaign for a statement and are waiting on a response.

Have a news tip, question or comment?