PARSIPPANY — A Superior Court judge has denied former Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor Barberio motion seeking reconsideration of the dismissal of his legal challenge to the November 4, 2025, Parsippany mayoral election.
Barberio filed the motion on January 9, asking the court to reverse its December 23, 2025 order dismissing the election contest, as well as a January 8, 2026 order that denied his request for counsel fees while awarding costs to Mayor Pulkit Desai. The court declined to do so, leaving both prior rulings intact.
In his motion, Barberio argued that the court applied the incorrect legal standard by dismissing the election contest at the pleading stage. He contended that New Jersey election law does not require a candidate to prove allegations before discovery, testimony, and a trial are permitted, and that election contests are intended to proceed quickly to a hearing where evidence can be compelled and evaluated.
Barberio further asserted that the dismissal deprived him of the opportunity to call witnesses, obtain election records, and present testimony to determine whether illegal votes were counted or legal votes were rejected.
Central to his argument was reliance on a New Jersey Supreme Court decision arising from the closely contested 2005 Parsippany mayoral election, in which the Court held that election contest petitions may be filed “upon information and belief” and should not be dismissed for failing to include evidence obtainable only through discovery or trial. Barberio maintained that the same legal error was repeated in this case.
The election contest raised several claims, including allegations of improperly counted mail-in and provisional ballots, voters allegedly denied the opportunity to cast valid ballots, irregularities involving mail-in ballot tracking, and issues related to under-votes and over-votes. Barberio contended that the court dismissed these claims based on a merits analysis rather than whether the petition met the statutory threshold to proceed to a hearing.
Barberio’s next step is to appeal to the Appellate Court.
