A Circuit Court judge has dismissed a complaint seeking to overturn the results of a Nov. 2 referendum in which three votes proved to be the margin of victory for a referendum raising taxes in East Aurora School District 131.
In the latest courtroom battle Wednesday, Aurora resident Nell Johnson told Judge R. Peter Grometer that some election judges didn’t adhere to their oaths during the election, primarily because some ballots were not initialed. But Grometer told Johnson and four other plaintiffs contesting the referendum outcome that it was his oath that bound him to dismiss the complaint because there was not enough proof presented that the results of the election would have changed.
“There has not been a showing in the complaint of a breach of integrity in the election process,” Grometer said.
Voters had rejected six previous tax increase requests before the three-vote victory in November that raised the education fund tax rate 55 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation.
“We’re in the process of building a budget for next year, and that’s been difficult with this hanging over our heads,” District 131 Supt. Charles Ponquinette said. “Now that this is behind us, we can come up with concrete things to consider.”
