[EL] Absentee irregularities? Contested Hempstead school board race

[David A. Holtzman]

*This 
<http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/kathleen-rice-nassau-da-investigating-contested-hempstead-school-board-race-1.8165127>**news 
broke as I was headed to Nassau County, NY, last week:*
"Nassau DA investigating contested Hempstead school board race"
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/kathleen-rice-nassau-da-investigating-contested-hempstead-school-board-race-1.8165127
/(Click with caution: 5-view site-wide paywall)
/The dispute is about which candidate should be the second of two 
candidates elected in an at-large contest.
/Snippets:/ "A source close to the investigation said the district 
attorney's office took machines, paper ballots of all kinds, envelopes, 
notes, records, signature books and sheets, lists, logs, sample ballots 
and other correspondence relating to the election."
*"On election night, candidate Maribel Touré led with 712 votes to Betty 
Cross' 691. The following morning, when 31 disputed absentee ballots 
were opened over Brewington's objections, Cross had a six-vote lead."**
***
/*Here's a **graphic**that attorney Brewington is holding up in the 
picture shown with the article:*
/at-polls versus absentee pie charts

*News like this makes me wonder if U.S. mail voting should be subject to 
tougher regulation.*Such as:
- Requiring that absentee/vote-by-mail ballots be sent and returned by a 
service that makes voters receiving or sending them present 
identification, which might address discrimination concerns related to 
asking only at-polls voters for ID.
  - Requiring that the mailing service provide proof that election 
officials actually sent ballot mail to voters./(In the online comments 
section of the article linked above, some concern is expressed that 
election officials on Long Island have been lax or have lied about 
mailing out ballots.)/
- Requiring people to take care while their ballots are in their 
custody, like you might want to require people to do when guns are in 
their custody.
- Requiring absentee/vote-by mail voters to sign something like an 
academic exam pledge about not having received illegal assistance or 
having let anyone see their votes/answers.

- dah

/p.s. Here are links to other Newsday coverage of the case:
(Again, paywall warning -- click carefully: every click counts against a 
5-view limit.)
/
"Hempstead school board race disputed even as Betty Cross is sworn in," 5/21
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/hempstead-school-board-to-count-absentee-ballots-before-declaring-winner-1.8120031 


"Dobie: Wrinkle in the Hempstead race," 5/21:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/michael-dobie/finally-change-for-hempstead-schools-michael-dobie-1.8118466 

/Snippet: /"According to sources present at the count, Cross went from 
691 votes to 719 while Touré went from 712 to 713 ... a complete and 
incomprehensible departure from the usual relationship between absentee 
ballots and those cast in person."
/Another snippet:/ "At the end of Friday, according to court papers, 231 
absentee ballots had been printed and collected. Beginning Monday 
morning, another 301 people allegedly went to the district and requested 
absentee ballots, which were voted that day. The number strains credulity.
"The ballots counted Wednesday afternoon were a subset of those 301, 
according to sources. Supposedly, around 60 were sent to the Board of 
Elections for verification and the board said only 30 or so could be 
verified as registered voters.
"Those were the ones counted. Why were only 60 or so sent to the board 
for verification? What's the implication of the 30 or so the board 
bounced? What of the other 241 or so that were not sent to the board? 
And what about the original 231?"

"Hempstead school candidates say they will complain to state," 5/22
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/hempstead-school-board-election-dispute-heard-by-court-1.8146790 


"Editorial: State must handle Hempstead election decisively," 5/22
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/state-must-handle-hempstead-election-decisively-editorial-1.8154244 

/Snippet:/ "There's more. Statements from Hempstead residents claim that 
people came to their doors asking them to fill in absentee ballots for 
Cross right then and saying the ballots would be delivered for them."

"Editorial: 'Outsiders' bring positive change to Hempstead," 5/27:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/outsiders-bring-positive-change-to-hempstead-editorial-1.8207454 

/Snippet:/ "Groups like the Long Island Civic Engagement Table, New York 
Communities for Change and The Corridor Counts worked hard to increase 
awareness and bolster voter turnout, which nearly doubled from last 
year. With one insurgent candidate elected and another's fate hinging on 
the absentee ballot probe, the groups showed change is possible in even 
the most entrenched and dysfunctional school board."
/[It would be a huge shame if a strong civic engagement effort turned 
out to have been unjustly thwarted.We pitch civic engagement as 
potentially effective!]
/
/[Lastly, the case has cast more doubts on the fairness of at-large 
elections:]
/See "Letter: At-large elections muddy the results," 5/29
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/at-large-elections-muddy-the-results-letter-1.8257232 


-- 
David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
david at holtzmanlaw.com

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