PINGA

PROVIDENCE — It came down to simple math.

Even if the Board of Elections agreed that 18 Republicans cast ballots in the West Warwick Democratic Senate primary election, it still wouldn’t have been enough votes for incumbent Sen. Stephen D. Alves to win.

Yesterday, the board voted 4 to 1 to certify the results of last week’s primary, denying Alves’ request for a new election and upholding newcomer Michael J. Pinga’s victory in the race.

“It’s not our job to rewrite an election,” said board member Florence G. Gormley. “We rule on what we have.”

Alves appealed the results of last week’s primary, which he lost 994 to 977. He asked for a recount — and then a new election — because of what he said were inconsistencies in the number of ballot applications and votes cast, and Republicans casting votes in the race.

A recount brought Pinga’s total to 996, leaving Alves’ tally unchanged. At yesterday’s hearing, Alves’ lawyer, Angel Taveras, reiterated his client’s issues with the election.

According to Taveras’ calculations, there were 87 more ballots cast than there were corresponding ballot applications. Alves also wanted the recount to include mail ballots and was concerned that Republicans were allowed to vote in the primary.

In preparation for the hearing, the board, on Thursday, inspected a supply box from one of the West Warwick polling locations where the suggested discrepancy between ballot applications and votes occurred. All ballot applications are numbered, and the missing ballot applications were found, unused, in the supply box, officials said.

And as per statute, the board is not required to include mail ballots in an election recount. They are required only to recount, by machine, the ballots cast at polling locations.

Democratic voters must sign a blue slip of paper given to them by poll workers before they are provided with a ballot. Initial reports prepared by the West Warwick Board of Canvassers showed that 15 Republicans had voted in the Democratic primary. During the three-hour hearing, Taveras spent one hour hand-counting the more than 2,000 ballot applications submitted for the race. The recount, held in open view in the hearing room at the Board of Elections, discovered that there were 18 Republicans who were allowed to vote in the primary.

Regardless, Pinga’s lawyer, Armando E. Batastini, pointed the board to the math of the argument.

“It’s still only 18,” said Batastini. “My client won by 19 votes. If you credit everything he says, it’s still not a reason to overturn the election.”

Immediately after the verdict, Pinga went up to Alves to shake his hand. Alves turned away. He later tried to find Pinga to shake his hand, but Pinga had already left the building. To reporters, Alves attributed his behavior to initial disappointment at the outcome, and frustration over the campaign. Pinga supporters accused Alves’ son, William, of stealing campaign signs of his father’s opponent. No charges were filed in the incident.

“At that moment, it was hard feelings,” he said. “There were nasty comments made [during the campaign] and things hurt.”

Pinga, a baker, stood before television cameras in the hearing room after the verdict, his youngest daughter, Michaella, on his hip.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “I know it took a long time. I’m just extremely happy. Now we can move forward and get the state on the right track.”

As a first-time candidate, Pinga ran largely on a platform of change, suggesting new politicians were needed in order to “remove the cloud of corruption” that looms over the State House and West Warwick. Pinga also received the endorsement of Council 94, the state’s largest employee union –– a backing that Alves did not seek.

Pinga switched his voter affiliation to Democrat from Republican this spring. Some of his ideologies — his support of Governor Carcieri and opposition to tax hikes, abortion and gay marriage — differ from the party he now calls his. Though he has said he’s supported candidates across the aisle in previous elections, Pinga said his decision to switch parties in this election was based on his desire to get the election over and done with.

The race has no Republican challenger, which means barring a successful write-in candidate, the Democratic primary determines the winner of the race.

Alves said yesterday that he needed to discuss his options with his lawyer to decide if he would move forward with an appeal to the state Supreme Court. He predicted that he would make a decision by tomorrow.

With reports from the Associated Press

tbuford@projo.com