New Primary Called|For Judicial Election

BROOKLYN (CN) - Voters in Orange County, N.Y., will take part in another primary election to determine the Independence Party nominee for Surrogate Court judge after a near-tie, the New York Supreme Court ruled.

Contender Stephen Hunter petitioned for a new election after he lost by 3 votes to Robert Onofry in the Sept. 9 primary, the ruling states.

The Orange County Supreme Court tossed out Hunter's petition and declared Onofry the official nominee. Onofry won the nomination with 222 votes to Hunter's 213, that ruling states.

But some election districts recorded more votes cast than voters registered for the Independence Party, the panel found.

Disregarding these unattributed votes, and an absentee ballot that both parties agree should be thrown out, gives Onofry 214 votes and Hunter 211 votes, according to the ruling.

Seventeen irregular votes in a 3-point winning margin makes it "impossible to determine" the true victor, the ruling states.

The four-judge panel reversed the county court's order and called for a new primary election.

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