ELIZABETHTOWN — Thursday’s absentee-ballot count in Essex County slowed to a crawl following a legal motion by District Attorney-elect Kristy Sprague in State Supreme Court.

Sprague faced incumbent DA Julie Garcia in the election, winning by 75 votes on Election Day, 6,053 to 5,978.

Sprague picked up another 63 votes in Thursday’s count, while Garcia got 61.

SLOW GOING

Sprague wanted copies of one-time absentee ballot envelopes and applications, but her counsel, Paul DerOhannesian II, agreed that counting of permanent absentee ballots could begin while copies were made.

After six hours of counting, with attorneys for Sprague and Garcia examining each ballot and envelope, the County Board of Elections had reached the Town of Minerva and counted 124 of 266 permanent absentee ballots.

Once the permanent absentees are counted, 573 one-time absentee ballots remain to be counted, probably sometime next week.

The deadline is Monday, but State Supreme Court Justice Robert Muller signed an order granting the county more time.

HUNDREDS RETURNED

Essex County sent out 1,169 absentee ballots, and 858 had been returned by the deadline.

Of those, 266 were permanent absentee ballots, used by disabled voters and others who vote absentee in every election. The rest are one-time absentee ballots, used by voters who are going to be out of town on Election Day.

Affidavit ballots are used when someone who is not listed in voter-registration records goes to a poll to vote.