Suffolk County Sheriff Race Too Close To Call

Suffolk County Sheriff Democratic candidate Errol Toulon Jr., left, holds a 1,354-vote lead over Republican candidate Lawrence Zacarese, right, according to unofficial Suffolk BOE results. The race was too close to call as of deadline Wednesday.

By Long Islander News Staff
info@longislandergroup.com

While the race for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office was too close to call Wednesday morning, other county races with stakes in the Huntington area yielded few surprises.

Unofficial Suffolk Board of Election results separated top vote-getter in the Suffolk sheriff race Errol Toulon Jr. from second place Lawrence Zacarese by just 1,354 votes.

A Suffolk Board of Elections official said Wednesday the race was too close to call and that paper ballots would be counted in the coming week.

Toulon, a Democrat, who could not be reached for comment before deadline Wednesday, earned 141,006 votes. Meanwhile, Zacarese, a Republican, earned 139,652 votes, according to unofficial Suffolk BOE results.

In a statement emailed Thursday morning, Zacarese, thanking campaign volunteers, said, "Your hard work, dedication and commitment to our race has continually been, and will remain, a source of strength and inspiration to me."

He also said the race isn't over yet.

"I want to assure everyone that we are working with all of the appropriate individuals and agencies to make sure this process moves forward fairly and as expeditiously as possible," he said. "I am extremely confident that after all of the absentee ballots are counted that we will be victorious and I will be your next Suffolk County Sheriff.”

There were 14,113 countywide absentee ballots on file with Suffolk BOE as of deadline Wednesday. An additional 7,910 ballots were outstanding and could be considered if they are postmarked at least the day prior to the election and are received by Suffolk BOE within seven days after.