HUDSON – The general election of 2011 ended this week with a single vote determining the outcome of the last undecided race.

In the contest for New Lebanon town justice, John Nevers, running on the Republican line, defeated incumbent Darcy Poppey, who ran on the Democratic, Conservative and Independence Party lines, by a vote of 368 to 367.

The county Board of Elections finished the official certification of the results Tuesday, December 6, two days shy of a month after the polls closed.

The other race that remained in doubt longer until all challenges were resolved last week was the contest for two seats on the Taghkanic Town Board. There were four candidates in that race, with incumbent Richard Skoda, who ran on the Republican, Conservative, Working Families and Independence Party lines, emerging as the top vote getter, with 282 votes. The other seat went to Debora Gilbert, a freelance writer and photographer, who had 277 votes. Ms. Gilbert is a frequent contributor to this newspaper.

In the Taghkanic race Jeremiah McAward, on the Democratic line, received 264 votes; incumbent Carolyn Sammons received 255 votes.

Virginia Martin, the county’s Democratic elections commissioner, said that the recount of all ballots cast in the November 8 election, went much quicker than last year. The general election in 2010 marked the first time the county used the optical scan electronic vote counting machines at all polling places in the county.

She also said the recount required fewer people. “Now we have a better procedure,” Ms. Martin said after the votes were certified. The local tallies are sent to the state. Two years ago, the Taghkanic race was not resolved until January.