State Sen. Stephen Alves, D-West Warwick, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, wants a new election, saying that several factors tainted the final results.

The Providence Journal Connie Grosch

WEST WARWICK — Sen. Stephen D. Alves yesterday filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the Board of Elections and order a new election in the Senate District 9 race.

“I was concerned about the way the elections were conducted,” Alves said.

Alves, a longtime senator from West Warwick and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, lost his seat in the Democratic primary earlier this month to political newcomer Michael J. Pinga. A recount performed shortly after the election showed that Pinga received 19 more votes than Alves. The Board of Elections upheld the recount and certified the election results last week.

The appeal, said Alves’ lawyer Angel Taveras, is on the grounds that a number of factors tainted the election results.

The West Warwick Board of Canvassers initially found 13 Republicans had voted in the Democratic primary. A hand recount by Taveras at the Board of Elections during last week’s hearing discovered two more improper Republican ballots. Also, Taveras said that there were three Democratic ballots without corresponding ballot applications. A total of 18 ballots were questioned.

Last week, the Board of Elections ruled that those 18 ballots still would not have been enough for Alves to win the race.

Taveras said here is where an examination of elections law is necessary. By law, the board only has to recount ballots cast at polling locations on Election Day. Alves is asking that the board include mail and provisional ballots in its recount.

“According to the Rhode Island Board of Elections’ original vote tally, Alves lost to his oppontent by 17 votes,” the lawsuit states. “According to the recount conducted by the Board of Elections, Alves lost to his opponent by 19 votes. However, given that a full recount of all ballots has not been conducted, no one knows for sure what the vote totals are.”

Along with the suit, Alves has requested that his case be consolidated with that of Senate hopeful David Bennett, of Warwick, who is lodging the same claims in the District 31 race. Taveras, who also represents Bennett, said the consolidation makes sense because even if the facts differ slightly, the laws applied in both cases are the same.

Alves has also motioned for a stay of the Board of Elections decision because without it, the election cycle will proceed as usual and Pinga may be declared the winner before a decision is made on Alves’ case. Accordingly, Alves has also motioned for an expedited review, because appeals normally take months to play out, Taveras said.

Alves is also asking for a stay on the certification of the election results and seeking expedited review.

The appeal to the Supreme Court is discretionary, Taveras said, which means the court has the option to decide whether or not to hear the case. He said that he expects to hear some word on the case by Monday.

“It’s up the to the court on how to proceed,” Taveras said. “It’s within their discretion. We’re hopeful they’ll issue the stay and hear the case. But it’s up to them at this point.”

tbuford@projo.com