Lindy Ellis (Enterprise photo — Jesse Adcock)

SARANAC LAKE — Lindy Ellis appears to have been re-elected to represent Franklin County District 7, according to unofficial election results on Tuesday night. But Ellis wasn’t technically running for the seat anymore.

She said she was “flabbergasted” by the results of the election.

“It’s a really great English word, flabbergasted,” Ellis said on Wednesday. “I’m humbled by the show of support and I’m thankful for all of the folks who re-elected me.”

Ellis dropped out of the race in July, citing “intimidation … harassment and bullying” and a desire to spend more time with family as the reasons for her decision, but because the deadline to remove her name from the ballot had already passed, she remained a candidate on the Democratic and independent “Unity” party lines.

Just one week before the election, she publicly endorsed Danielle Carr, who ran on the independent “Independent North Country” party line. Jeff Branch — the second-highest vote earner on Tuesday, who ran on the independent “Common Ground” party line — accused Ellis of running a “whisper campaign” in the weeks prior.

Ellis said she felt she spoke clearly to people that she was not seeking votes and was supporting another candidate.

“I had actively called people who said ‘Lindy, can I vote for you?’ and I asked them to vote for Danie Carr,” Ellis said. “I actively called for Danie in the four or five days after I was able to endorse her. … I was as clear, as clear as I could be.”

Ellis said she respected the other candidates on the ballot, saying they are “dedicated” people who care about the community.

“Branch has served the community in many different roles and has just been exceptional,” Ellis said. “Carr, in being able to interact with her, you know I appreciate her focus on affordable housing and child care. She’s actually made a difference in how we look at them in Franklin County.”

Ellis said she plans to keep in contact with Carr. Carr had campaigned on an ability to keep in touch with how the legislature’s decisions impact the average working family through her job as a counselor. Ellis said she wants to tap into Carr’s knowledge and connections.

Ellis felt she learned a lot during this election hearing what the two candidates had to say, adding that their campaigns have inspired how she’ll continue to work on the legislature.

The results from the Franklin County Board of Elections showed Ellis with 813 votes at the end of election night, including early votes and absentee ballots returned and scanned before Election Day. There is a difference of 105 votes between Ellis and Branch, the second-highest vote-getter.

Franklin County Republican election Commissioner Tracy Sparks said the county issued 294 absentee ballots to District 7 voters and had received 231 by Wednesday morning. A portion of the ballots were already included in the vote totals from election night.

Branch got 708 votes, Leigh Wenske got 587 and Carr got 554.

Wenske dropped out of the race in June after endorsing Branch, but his name still appeared on the Republican and Conservative party lines because he dropped out after the deadline, too.

But the election cannot be verified until all absentee ballots are counted, too. Election night was the deadline for turning in or mailing ballots, and they must arrive before Nov. 15 to be counted. Only then can the results be certified.

Ellis took 30% of the vote, Branch took 27%, Wenske took 22% and Carr took 21%.

Carr could not be reached for comment on election night or Wednesday.

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Ballot confusion

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In July, when Ellis dropped out, she said when people saw her name on the ballot on Nov. 8, “they should vote for the person of their choice.”

In October, asked what she would do in the case of her being the highest vote-getter in the election, Ellis said she would accept the position, and if the voters want her, she would serve. Wenske said at the time that if he got the most votes, he would decline the position, in which case the county legislature would appoint a member.

With less than a week until the election, Ellis endorsed Carr, said she cast an early ballot for Carr and told voters to follow suit.

Branch said people he thought were decently-informed on the race told him they were surprised to see Ellis’ name on the ballot. They thought she had fully dropped out.

“Lindy obviously had a whole planned thing. I don’t want to ever go out with sour grapes but …” he said, trailing off.

“When people asked me, ‘Lindy, I want to vote for you,’ I said, ‘I’m on the ballot,'” Ellis said. “That is about as clear as I could be.”

“I physically withdrew myself from the area,” she added.

She was in Japan for three weeks and in Canada for one week in the fall, on a trip teaching manufacturing leadership through her job with Corning.

“This is not a role that I went looking for. But if the community is asking me to serve, that’s what my family has instilled in me,” she said.

Ellis said she grew up in a military family of people who served when they we called upon, and said she’s continuing that.

Branch also said he believed it was “poor form” for the Enterprise to write a story on Ellis endorsing Carr after the deadline for endorsement letters to the editor had passed. But he believes the timing of her announcement was on purpose on Ellis’ part.

“I guarantee it was a planned thing,” Branch said. “Lindy’s a very calculated person.”

But he said this wasn’t the biggest obstacle to his campaign.

“I think it played in a little bit, but I think it was more about party-line voting,” Branch said.

“Many people came out to vote against Elise Stefanik,” Branch said.

Stefanik’s Democratic opponent, Matt Castelli, did very well in Harrietstown, he pointed out. Being off the main party lines in a year with high turnout likely hurt his vote count, he said.

Even Wenske, who had endorsed Branch, did very well vote-wise. He had been out of the race for a long time, and had not been campaigning for months.

“It’s my fault as much as anybody. I didn’t do a good enough job of getting the word out there but I don’t think I could have done enough,” Branch said. “People are going to go out and, bang, ‘we don’t want Elise,’ and check all the boxes without really being informed.”

He had sent a letter to everyone in Harrietstown and Franklin explaining the ballot.

“I don’t feel bad. I think, given the circumstances, I did pretty damn well as an independent in the lower right-hand corner of the ballot,” Branch said. “I accept it. I’ll move on.”

Branch said he does not plan to run for office again.

“I’m 60 years old buddy. I can’t walk, let alone run,” he said.

Ellis said she plans to call Nedd Sparks, who won election to the Franklin County legislature on Tuesday, unseating Paul Maroun in his bid to represent District 6. She wanted to congratulate Sparks and start talking with him.

Justus Martin also beat incumbent county board chair Donald Dabiew for the District 5 seat on Tuesday.

Ellis said she wasn’t paying much attention to the other races going on around the county this cycle.

Now she wants to continue to work for the good of the people in good faith and “without animosity.”