A challenge to the results of the Parsippany mayoral election, where Democrat Pulkit Desai defeated GOP incumbent James Barberio by 80 votes, will go to trial on January 5.
Baberio has retained John Carbone, a Hall of Fame election lawyer, to represent him.
In court filings, Carbone alleges that 568 ballots were returned after the polls had closed – “presumably postmarked by November 4, 2025.” He said 358 of the late-arriving ballots were for Desai and 310 for Barberio. Carbone also said there were sixteen under-votes and 340 over-votes.
“We believe some of these over-votes and under-votes, upon manual inspection, will indicate an intent to vote for Petitioner Barberio,” Carbone said. “Multiple voters observed and are prepared to provide sworn statements to certify, and testify in court, that they went to the polls to vote on the machine, and even though they voted for the entire Republican ticket from governor though mayor, that the machine incorrectly indicated a vote for Respondent Desai.”
He said the count “has resulted in over-votes whereby voters who intended, and did, vote for Petitioner Barberio had their ballots invalidated as the ballot of the machine also indicated a vote for Respondent Desai, thus invalidating their vote for mayor.”
Carbone also cites technical deficiencies involving 33 provisional ballots, 122 vote-by-mail ballots, three mail-in ballots cast by voters who died before Election Day, and 34 ballots he says were “illegally counted” because the post office returned the sample ballot before the election – something that indicates the voter lacked Parsippany residency.
Democrats won two seats on the township council, giving them a 3-2 majority. Desai and the councilmembers-elect are expected to take the oath of office prior to the start of the trial.
Superior Court Judge Noah Franzblau will preside over the trial.
