NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law legislation that will permit villages that administer their own elections to continue to use lever voting machines in next week's elections. 

The measure was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck). 

"As villages throughout Westchester County prepare for local elections on March 15, government officials expressed concerns about shifting over to the new (optical scanning) technology. Many of the villages in my Senate district came to me because they did not think they would have access to the new voting machines and the time or funds to train their staff and test the machines properly before the upcoming elections," said Oppenheimer. 

More than a month after Election Day, longtime has been declared the winner in the 37th State Senate District race against Republican opponent Bob Cohen.

Cohen conceded to Oppenheimer this morning.

This is Oppenheimer's 14th term of office.

She issued a statement this afternoon saying, "After a long and hard fought campaign and deliberate counting of the votes, it is my honor to once again have the privilege of representing the people of Westchester in the State Senate." She vowed to continue her record of "success on education reform, cost-cutting and service to the community," adding she "looks forward to working with Governor-Elect Cuomo and her colleagues in the Legislature" to "meet these challenges."

The 37th District includes New Rochelle, Rye, White Plains, Harrison, Mamaroneck, New Castle, North Castle, Ossining, Rye and Scarsdale.

Election day was three weeks ago, but ballot counting is still going on in some of Westchester County's too-close-to-call races.

Workers began counting thousands of absentee ballots Tuesday at the Board of Elections in White Plains.

Election Day 2010 may have come and gone, but there are several key races in Westchester County that are still undecided. The State Senate race in the 37th District between longtime incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer and Republican Challenger Bob Cohen is still too close to call. At last look, with 80% of the votes in the district tallied, Oppenheimer was leading Cohen by a slim 180 point margin. Elections officials say reported voting irregularities in the district have forced a recount of the votes, a move they say, could take at least another 3 days.

Political newcomer Dr. Nan Hayworth scored an upset victory over incumbent Democratic Congressman John Hall in the 19th Congressional District race Tuesday night. Hayworth defeated Hall 53-47%. During her victory speech in Fishkill, Hayworth promised to hit the ground running, saying "The Federal government that has been weighing on us like a stone is gonna be lifted. We are gonna shrink it and get it tamed and under control."

During his concession speech, Congressman Hall vowed to help Hayworth make a smooth transition, saying, "After the dust has settled and we've gotten some rest, my staff and I would be happy to hand off to her and her staff any ongoing casework or projects that we had in the works, something that was not offered to me by my predecessor, but should be to all incoming representatives in the interest of the people."

The 37th State Senate District race between longtime incumbent  Suzi Oppenheimer and Bob Cohen is too close to call. At last look with 80% of the precincts reporting, the two were tied at 50%, with Oppenheimer leading by a slim 180 point margin.  Cohen addressed his supporters late Monday evening, "We  are very hopeful that we are going to finish this out sometime tonight  or maybe in the next couple of days, but whatever," adding, "I've waited eight months,I could wait another couple or three days."

With just two days to go before election day, New York's Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates held rallies in Westchester on Sunday.

The latest poll in the New York State Senate 37th District race finds Republican candidate Bob Cohen gaining ground on longtime State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D,WF).

The RNN-TV/Westchester County Association Poll taken by Iona College  found Cohen closing in on Oppenheimer's lead from 10 to 6 percentage points since the previous poll that was taken October 13.

When asked whom they would vote for in the election, 48% of likely voters questioned said Oppenheimer, 42% said Cohen and 10% remain undecided.

Poll Coordinator with Iona College, Dr. Jeanne Zaino says "Given the margin of error of plus or minus 4% and the seeming trend of previously undecided voters moving towards cohen, we may wind up with closer race than first expected."

The poll included over 10,000 calls to registered voters on October 27.