Absentee ballots sought in legislative race

A total of 1,002 voters have requested absentee ballots for the special election a week from tomorrow in Suffolk's 1st Legislative District to choose a successor to Republican Edward Romaine, the new Brookhaven supervisor.

The requests are nearly evenly split between the major parties for the race between Riverhead's Republican Supervisor Sean Walter and Democratic Southold town board member Alfred Krupski.

Republican voters requested 385 absentee ballots, Democrats 344, and unaffiliated voters 217, Independence Party members 38, Conservatives 16 and Working Families Party members two. While tomorrow is the deadline to mail absentee ballots, a voter can request one in person at the board of elections in Yaphank until Jan. 14. -- Rick Brand