Oneida County's two election commissioners have announced they are stepping down after numerous issues were discovered during the court battle over the 22nd Congressional District race.

Republican Claudia Tenney narrowly beat incumbent Democrat Anthony Brindisi, but it took three months of litigation before results were certified. Tenney's victory was certified just in the past two weeks.

The judge overseeing the case cited several problems with the Oneida County Board of Elections, including a failure to process many registration forms that were submitted by the deadline.

County Executive Anthony Picente said commissioners Carolann Cardone (D) and Rose Marie Grimaldi (R) could resign as early as the middle of this week. He's now working with the party leadership and county legislature on a path forward.

"We want to see what's down there and what needs to be corrected," Picente said. "I've also been in discussions with the state Board of Elections about what we can do in the interim. I mean it's not just an easy fix to put someone in there immediately."

Picente expects to have an update about the situation sometime next week.

On Wednesday morning, Cardone submitted her letter of resignation to Mitchell Ford, the chairman of the Oneida County Democratic Party. In the letter obtained by Spectrum News, Cardone expressed her graitude to have served the county over the past 31 years, and stated "with deep regret" that she will tender her resignation effective on March 2.

Additionally, Grimaldi submitted her letter of resignation to the chair of the Oneida County legislature Wednesday. In her letter obtained by Spectrum News, Grimaldi said her resignation would be effective immediately saying, "The recent election season was extremely challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in election law, changing Executive Orders and limited resources." 

She went on to say, "Although my staff and I worked many nights and weekends, we were unable to process all of the voter registrations we received. Anyone who knows me knows my work ethic and honesty, and I take responsibility for any failures at the Oneida County Board of Elections that resulted in voters being disenfranchised. I am very sorry and I apologize to any Oneida County voter whose voice was not heard in November."