Updated: Storobin and Fidler Both Declare Victory With Tight Results

[Update below.] Albany – Two of five special elections for legislative seats remain too close to call and could come down to absentee ballots.

Democrat Lew Fidler and Republican David Storobin have seesawed in the special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated when Carl Kruger pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges in December.

Just before midnight, with about 75 percent of the precincts reporting, Fidler led by 103 votes, according to an unofficial tally by The Associated Press. A second report has Storobin up by about 80 votes. A total of 2,090 absentee ballots were issued.

However, Matzav.com has learned that hundreds  – between 500 and 1,000 – absentee ballots remain uncounted. It could take a week or longer before that is sorted out.

Update, 12:17 EST: Both candidates have declared victory. Capitol Confidential quotes one source that has the final unofficial tally from the New York City Board of Elections as 10,756 for Storobin and 10,636 for Fidler. According to our latest info, 757 paper ballots had been returned.

The heavily Democratic Brooklyn Senate District will disappear, lost to the once-every-decade process of redrawing election district lines. The winner will still be able to run for a full term in November, but the district where they run will be determined by where they live. The Storobin-Fidler battle was the highest-profile race among five being waged in Tuesday’s special election. Assembly seats in Westchester County, the Hudson Valley and the Buffalo area were also up for grabs.

{Dov Green-Matzav.com Newscenter}