RENSSELAERVILLE — Rensselaerville Justice Gregory Bischoff has been re-elected to his four-year post in a remarkably close race against Republican Richard Tollner.

Bischoff, a Democrat, got 269 votes to Tollner’s 260. On Election Night, the margin was even slimmer, with Bischoff having just 263 votes to Tollner’s 260. 

After absentee ballots were added to Bischoff’s total, the Albany County Board of Elections had been waiting for a small number of ballot cures to come in, the deadline for which was the end of November, a board of elections employee told The Enterprise last month. 

On Tuesday, the Board of Elections confirmed that the race has been certified.

Bischoff was first elected as justice in 2011 and served until 2016. He was appointed back to the position in 2019 after the death of Justice Ronald Bates, running uncontested for a full term later that year. 

He told The Enterprise this week that he was glad that the town had strong candidates for all the different open positions this year, but was sad that only a minority of eligible voters in Rensselaerville cast a ballot. 

“It’s nice to see people are interested; it’s just that you’d like to see more than one third of eligible voters voting,” Bischoff said.

Bischoff said he’ll keep doing his best to ensure justice for both defendants and the community.

Tollner — who had accepted Bischoff’s win before the cures deadline — told The Enterprise last month that he was grateful for the voters who turned out and said he was “looking forward to the next go-around.”