Morris GOP files suit as residents demand Mendham Twp. deputy mayor concede election loss

Frustrated residents packed the Mendham Township Committee's last meeting of the year Tuesday to demand that Deputy Mayor Thomas Baio concede his narrow November election loss and drop a lawsuit alleging illegal votes were cast while contesting the certified outcome.

Baio's lawsuit was filed on Tuesday prior to the meeting, during which several residents referred to it as a politically motivated action that has drawn national media attention and embarrassed the wealthy suburban township and its 6,000 residents.

"We've got an issue that's gone international and we're a laughingstock," former candidate Martin Slayne told the committee, adding all the candidates in the four-person committee race for two seats agreed to not allow "national politics bringing in stuff that our community doesn't want and need."

Slayne was referring to the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, frequently involving mail-in ballots, by former President Donald Trump and most recently by Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who lost her election to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Certified results from the committee race saw Republican Tracey Moreen finishing first with 1,532 votes, followed by Democrat Lauren Spirig (1,473 votes). Baio finished third with 1,471 votes, ahead of Democrat Slayne (1,397 votes).

Baio in fact lost a vote in a recount conducted by the Morris County Board of Elections to finish with 1,470.

But a statement last week by county committee chair Laura Ali alleging "a large and growing number of vote-by-mail ballots filed by Democrat voters who do not appear to meet the residency requirement for voting in Mendham Township" set off a firestorm in former Gov. Chris Christie's hometown.

The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Civil Part Morris County, in Morristown, seeks to invalidate 33 mail-in ballots, naming the individuals and claiming they did not meet residency requirements to vote in Mendham Township. No specific evidence is cited in the court document for the basis of that determination.

"One of those voters is Morris County Democratic Chair and Mendham Township CommitteewomanAmalia Duarte’s adult daughter, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee," Ali alleged in her statement.

The lawsuit asks the court to "restrain" Spirig from taking office, invalidating her certificate of election and certifying Baio as the second winner of a three-year term.

Duarte in 2017 became the first Democrat ever elected to the Mendham Township Committee and is currently the only non-Republican on the governing body.

"This challenge is a bit of a nightmare for my family," Duarte said, pausing to regain her composure. "There were almost 700 vote-by-mail ballots cast and they're only going after 29 Democratic voters. There were about 80 young people in that category that Baio is going after. I know most of these kids. The last thing I want to do is open up a Pandora's box, questioning young Republicans, 'Where do you live now? How long have you left?' This is insane."

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"The question is why is the challenge being lodged selectively against [33] people who are believed to have voted for Democrats?" resident Neil Mody said. "And how does that impact the privacy of the vote of all the individuals who vote?"

Baio embroiled his own family in the controversy with a statement last week.

“Like many parents driven by a sense of duty, we were wrong to advance the [vote-by-mail] to my daughter, Ariana,” he wrote. “My daughter did answer the call of duty and did vote by the mail-in ballot. We all need to correct this behavior.”

"I'm so disappointed that now you're throwing our kids under the bus like this," Duarte said to Baio.

Baio did not speak during the meeting, but his attorney, Tim Howe, said “The original report that Tom Baio is bringing a legal challenge to the vote of his daughter is baseless."

"I have prepared for filing the election contest petition, and her name is not among the names listed," Howe said. "On behalf of the family, I am asking that any further news report omit that allegation and her name. The original, baseless report has gone viral, and will be dealt with in due course.”

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Others in the gallery supported Baio's legal right to challenge the election.

"No one is discriminating by age or race or disenfranchising anybody," resident Rich Rapp said. "The only issue here is whether anyone in Mendham Township voted illegally as a non-resident. There's no question that voting by mail is more subject to illegal voting than voting in person, so it should be subject to greater scrutiny in my opinion."

"Let the process play out," resident George Koenig said.

"Lauren Spirig is the certified winner, twice," Duarte clarified.

"I am a college student and I still vote in Mendham because this is my hometown and I'm allowed to do it.," Matthew Messina said. "It's not up to a single individual to say well, you are only here for six months a year so you shouldn't vote."

Resident Donna Stefanelli said she had been a lifelong Republican until January of 2021 when she reregistered as an independent because of "the Republican party not accepting free and fair elections."

"I just never thought this would happen in Mendham Township at the local level," Stefanelli said. "It is such a disappointment to me. Mr. Baio, thank you for your service, but we have to move on."

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Election: Mendham residents demand Thomas Baio concede