Judge dismisses election challenge in Mendham Township; GOP's Baio concedes

William Westhoven, Morristown Daily Record
·3 min read

MORRISTOWN — After a day of initial testimony at the Morris County Courthouse Tuesday, attorneys for former Mendham Township Committeeman Thomas Baio dropped a controversial lawsuit challenging his three-vote November election loss to Lauren Spirig due to alleged illegal vote-by-mail ballots.

While Baio was testifying in the afternoon session, Judge Stuart Minkowitz called for a private conference with the Republican candidate's attorneys, after which they petitioned Minkowitz for a dismissal of the case, which he granted.

The lawsuit identified 33 mostly late mail-in ballots that Baio claimed were cast by former or non-residents in a race he narrowly lost to Spirig, a Democrat. Baio's court challenge said he wanted to root out illegal votes in the interest of "election integrity."

The election gave Democrats a second spot on the five-member committee in a town that has long been a Republican bastion.

Attorneys for Spirig, who was sworn into office Jan. 5, said Baio's list of alleged illegal voters were mostly young Democratic voters who may have moved recently but still considered Mendham Township as their domicile. The allegations, they said, were "disenfranchising" young voters and could discourage them from casting ballots in the future.

Mendham Township Committeewoman Lauren Spirig wipes a tear and celebrates with fellow Democratic Committeewoman Amalia Duarte after a court challenge to her three-vote victory in the November election was dismissed in Morristown Superior Court
Mendham Township Committeewoman Lauren Spirig wipes a tear and celebrates with fellow Democratic Committeewoman Amalia Duarte after a court challenge to her three-vote victory in the November election was dismissed in Morristown Superior Court

Had the trial continued, some of those young voters would have been summoned to testify.

The case drew national media attention as it targeted election laws that are rarely challenged, philosophically tying township politics to allegations of voter fraud by former President Donald Trump and other high-profile Republican candidates across the nation who have supported Trump's unsubstantiated claims.

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Highlighting the potential impact on state and national election laws, Tuesday's hearing was also attended by representatives from the New Jersey Attorney General's Office and two attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Baio's lawsuit targeted ballots he said were improperly cast, including one by the daughter of Amalia Duarte, his fellow township committee member who also leads the Morris County Democratic Committee. Spirig's attorneys responded with their own list of allegedly questionable votes, including two by the children of former Gov. Chris Christie, who lives in Mendham Township.

“I'm disappointed the attorney withdrew the case," Morris County Republican Chair Laura Ali said after the hearing. "We had mounds of evidence proving that non-residents voted in the Mendham Township election."

But after Minkowitz struck testimony from some early witnesses for the plaintiff who alleged they knew certain voters no longer lived in the township, Baio's attorney, Timothy Howes, said he knew "the writing was on the wall."

Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz presides over a hearing challenging the results of a close November Mendham Township Committee election in the Historic Courtroom at Morristown Superior Court,
Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz presides over a hearing challenging the results of a close November Mendham Township Committee election in the Historic Courtroom at Morristown Superior Court,

"After a couple of evidential rulings, I realized we're just going to be spinning our wheels for the rest of the afternoon," Howes said. "So we sought and were granted a voluntary dismissal of the case."

He said the case was "over" and Baio has "conceded the election." Baio left the courthouse before speaking with reporters.

"The judge had the trial notebook and we had plenty of documents in there, but I could see where it was going," Howes said. "The residency issue is over here. But we're going to request the Commissioner of Registration look into some of these. The concern is you don't really get to pick where you vote. But this case is over forever."

Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz presides over a hearing challenging the results of a close November Mendham Township Committee election in the Historic Courtroom at Morristown Superior Court,
Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz presides over a hearing challenging the results of a close November Mendham Township Committee election in the Historic Courtroom at Morristown Superior Court,

Spirig was applauded by a large gallery of supporters after the dismissal.

"I am absolutely thrilled that this very long process is over and now we can just focus on the business of serving the community in a bipartisan spirit," Spirig said, tearing up as she hugged Duarte. "I'm excited that democracy prevailed here.

"As I've been saying, all along, there were no grounds for this, and it was awful they put our community through this, alleging 33 voters did something illegal," Duarte said. "But thank God democracy has won the day. I want to encourage young people to vote."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com 

Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mendham Township election: Judge dismisses challenge; Baio concedes