With absentee and affidavit ballots counted, the unofficial election results show that incumbent Supervisor Gerry Siller (D) has won another two-year term at the helm of Town government, and incumbent Amber Brach-Williams (R) another four-year term on the Town Board.
[Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect that Town Board race for the four-year term is subject to a mandatory recount due to the small margin between candidates.]
Other winners announced Tuesday were Dorothy Ogar, the long-time Town Clerk; and for Town Board, BJ Ianfolla. Margaret Larsen edged out Brett Surerus for another seat on the Town Board, but due to the small margin of just six votes, there will be a mandatory recount.
“Our democratic process works,” said Heather Reylek, chair of the Shelter Island Democrats, who congratulated candidates for stepping up.
Siller had 809 votes by the unofficial results released by the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Voters cast a total of 421 votes for write-ins for the top seat (those named in the write-ins were not provided by the BOE). Brach-Williams led a three-way race for two Town Board seats, earning 828 votes, according to the unofficial count.
In the contested race for Town Clerk, long-time incumbent Ogar (R) prevailed beating challenger Kristina Martin-Madjisova (D) by 735 to 692, by the unofficial count.
Ianfolla (D) will serve a two-year term on the Town Board, completing the term of Councilman Michael Bebon (D), who retired and moved off-Island. She had 732 votes, beating challenger Marcus Kaasik (R|C), who earned 651 votes by the unofficial count.
Newcomer Larsen (R) won a four-year term on the Town Board, replacing Councilman Albert Dickson (D), who decided not to run again. Larsen edged out challenger Brett G. Surerus (D|WF) by just six votes, with the unofficial count at 751 to 745, pending verification in a mandatory recount.
Other than for Siller and Brach-Williams, the contested races were too close to call when results were tallied on Election Day. The Suffolk County Board of Elections released new counts, adjusted to include absentee ballots, on Tuesday afternoon.
Ianfolla will take her seat immediately, bringing the Town Board up to its usual roster of five members. The other winners will be sworn in at the Town’s annual reorganization meeting in January.
Outstanding ballots, a long wait
Voters had until Election Day to get their ballots postmarked or to hand them in at a polling station. The BOE planned to begin counting absentee ballots from Shelter Island on Monday, November 15. However, Reylek said, because no representative from the Republican Committee appeared for the count, and it was postponed until Tuesday.
Tuesday’s count also included affidavit ballots, which are created when voters arrive at the polls but find they are not listed in the poll book, or there are problems with how they’re listed. After vowing that they’re entitled to vote, they file a provisional ballot.
In all, Tuesday’s count included 181 ballots. Eventually, the BOE will certify the results, but until then, they’re considered “unofficial.”
Unofficial results
Below are the unofficial results as of Tuesday, November 16:
| Town Supervisor | Early | In-Person | Absentee/Affidavit | Total |
| Gerry Siller (D) | 37 | 656 | 116 | 809 |
| (write-ins) | 16 | 369 | 36 | 421 |
| Town Clerk | Early | In-Person | Absentee/Affidavit | Total |
| Kristina Martin-Madjisova (D) | 35 | 552 | 105 | 692 |
| Dorothy Ogar (R) | 23 | 638 | 74 | 735 |
| Town Council – 4 Years | Early | In-Person | Absentee/Affidavit | Total |
| Amber Brach-Williams (R) | 32 | 733 | 95 | 828 |
| Margaret A. Larsen (R) | 28 | 653 | 70 | 751 |
| Brett G. Surerus (D|WF) | 38 | 592 | 115 | 745 |
| (write-ins) | 3 |
| Town Council – 2 Years | Early | In-Person | Absentee/Affidavit | Total |
| BJ Ianfolla (D) | 38 | 568 | 126 | 732 |
| Marcus Kaasik (R|C) | 20 | 593 | 50 | 663 |
| (write-ins) | 2 |
(Note: Candidates are shown in alphabetical order by last name. Affiliation abbreviations: C=Conservative, D=Democrat, R=Republican, WF=Working Families.)
