CEDAR GROVE — When he realized he was about to lose his bid for another council term in Tuesday's municipal election, Councilman Harry Kumburis took to the streets to question the voters.

Because it was 10:15 p.m., about two hours after the polls closed, Kumburis caused a stir as he knocked on residential doors looking to survey voters who had requested mail-in ballots.

One resident in a neighborhood near the Montclair border was rattled by the sight of two men in suits ringing her doorbell at 10:15 p.m. and called police, a report of the incident states.

"I'm gun-shy on these votes," Kumburis said of mail-in ballots, adding he won his current term by 11 votes. "All I was doing was research for myself, to see where I stood," he said Wednesday.

Kumburis said he ventured out to ask friends and acquaintances whether they had voted by mail or provisionally. He hoped mail-in and provisional votes – which were still being counted – could push him over the top.

As of Tuesday night, unofficial tallies from the Essex County Clerk showed Kumburis losing by 33 votes.

When officers responded to the area at 10:22 p.m., the councilman had already left. Officers reviewed the home's surveillance footage and identified one of the men as Kumburis. The homeowner declined to fill out a complaint once she knew it was a town official.

"The resident was satisfied," Police Chief Joseph Cirasa said Wednesday. "Once we knew who it was, and it was election night, it all made sense and wasn't anyone suspicious."

He called the incident “innocuous.”

Adrian Van Beuningen said he was away with his son when Kumburis rang their doorbell. His wife was confused by what she saw on the security camera and called her husband.

“She was pretty scared,” Van Beuningen said at his home on Thursday.

Using a home security app, he looked at the footage and told her to call the police.

“It looked pretty dodgy,” he said, and described Kumburis as “rifling through a stack of papers and cursing.”

Had he known it was a public official, Van Beuningen said he probably would not have told his wife to call the police. But, he added, the experience has soured his impression of the councilman.

“It’s common sense not to ring a doorbell in a quiet neighborhood at 10:30 at night,” he said.

Though possibly rude to ring a doorbell that late, the councilman appears to not have violated any election laws, said attorney Matthew Gilson, who advises the Bergen County Republican Association on election issues.

"Other than the absurdity of what he was doing, there’s nothing wrong with asking people if they sent in their ballots," said Gilson.

Only if the councilman had collected anyone's ballot, Gilson added, would he have violated election law.

By surveying voters he knew had mailed in their ballots, Kumburis said he could later use the information to challenge the mail-in and provisional tallies if the ballots were not counted.

Kumburis insists he did not ask anyone which candidate they voted for and denies any wrongdoing.

As for why he did not wait a few days to see the county's official results, Kumburis expressed suspicion regarding mail-in ballots, and cited instances when they were returned but not counted, including his mother's.

Though, an employee at the board of elections confirmed Thursday that Kumburis' mother's vote was counted as a provisional ballot.

The board representative said that her office expects to be done counting ballots by 4 p.m. Friday.

Kumburis said he knocked on about eight doors after polls closed Tuesday night and spoke with only three voters. How he came to knock on the stranger's door who reported him to police, he said that was a matter of convenience.

After visiting a friend, he noted another mail-in voter lived on the same block and decided to query that resident simply as a matter of convenience.

"I figured I had nothing to lose," he said.

He called the public reaction "startling."

The state Attorney General's Office has not returned a call seeking information on the legality of the councilman's actions.

In unofficial results, incumbent Councilman Peter Tanella and Joseph Maceri won the two available at-large seats on the council. Tanella and Maceri ran a joint campaign. As of Tuesday, the results were:

Peter Tanella, 909 votes; Joseph Maceri, 796; Harry Kumburis, 763; James Palma, 736.

Email: Katzban@NorthJersey.com

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