Absentee ballots could decide the outcome of several races in both local and Tompkins County government, with a handful of votes coming between some candidates.

The mix of representatives to Caroline's Town Board, where Democrat incumbent Linda Adams leads Republican Cynthia Smalt by only two votes, will be the first to be determined, in a count of 39 returned absentee ballots scheduled for 1 p.m. today at the Tompkins County Board of Elections office.

Democrat Michael Lane's 39-vote lead over Republican Jim Crawford in the District 14 Tompkins County Legislature race could be challenged during a count of 142 absentee ballots in Dryden, also slated for today.

Tuesday's preliminary results indicated a victory for Democrats in Newfield, where Richard Driscoll is leading his fellow Town Board member Republican Jeff Hart by 15 votes for town supervisor. But there are 34 absentee ballots scheduled to be counted at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Also to be counted Friday are 26 ballots in Danby, where Democrat Pamela Goddard leads current town clerk Carol Sczepanski by 16 votes.

The fate of two town board candidates in Enfield will likely be decided on Monday, when 42 absentee ballots could make a difference in the 10 votes that separate Republicans Christopher Hern and Gerhardt Achilles III.

Lansing residents may also have to wait until Monday to see if former Democratic Ithaca Common Council member Patricia Pryor has successfully unseated Republican incumbent Mike Sigler in legislative District 6. There are 23 votes between them, with 100 absentee ballots returned.

Sigler said he is waiting for the final count before deciding whether to celebrate or concede.

If the preliminary results stand, his party will have lost one seat in the county Legislature and five town positions. The new mix would also see Republicans lose their majority on the Lansing town board, while Democrats would gain a majority on Enfield town board and dominate Danby's town board, leaving Groton as the only Republican stronghold.

This is contrary to the trend statewide, where Democrats suffered major losses in several county races in what many characterized as widespread displeasure with the state's high taxes.

Sigler, chairman of the Tompkins County GOP, said he considered Tuesday's results an indication that local residents are happy with the status quo.

"I think this is an endorsement of keeping services intact and having higher taxes in order to pay for them," he said.

"I think we made some gains and I'm happy to see that," said Tompkins County Democratic Committee spokeswoman Kathy Zahler. "We will have new faces in new places and I think that's always good."