Fairness of Monticello election challenged

By TOM RUE
MONTICELLO -- Hundreds of people who turned out to vote at Monticello polls did not get to do so, according to published estimates. Some officials disputed this number, but many agreed that human error or a "computer glitch" may have irreparably damaged the public's hope that a fair election took place in Monticello on March 19.

Ironically, the victorious Republican ticket ran on the slogan, "Restore the trust."

"It was a horrendous episode. There were people screaming and carrying on. It took an hour and a half for them to decide to let people vote by affidavit," said Thompson Democratic chairperson Betty Friedland.

James Hussy, poll coordinator for the Democratic party, said he filed a written complaint with the Board of Elections on March 22, and also contacted Albany about the way voting was conducted.

Election commissioner Timothy Hill claimed the snafu was caused by computer staff. But a technician who spoke on a condition that he not be named said deputy election commissioner Fran Thalman -- a Republican -- orally asked him to copy election data for Monticello, Liberty and Bloomingburg -- "by village."

"There's nothing wrong with what the computer did. I'm not sure they [board of elections] requested what they really wanted," the technician said, adding that the query should have been "by election district."

"That was the beginning of the error, but I wasn't there," Democratic election commissioner Timothy Hill asserted. The technician said he was "98% certain" no one tampered with the computer data, but was sure that he did not alter any information himself.

Democrats questioned whether both parties were hit on an equal ratio, in the names left out of the first set of books. If a higher rate of Democrats were deleted than Republicans, there could be grounds for a lawsuit challenging the election, Democrats said.

In all, more than 1400 voters were left out of the first set of books, the technician reported.

"It was a miscommunication -- whether it was because they [election officials] should have stated it better or because I misunderstood what they said," he noted. Because of the incident, the county Management Information Services Department has reportedly issued a directive that all future requests for poll-book data be made in writing.

Due the mayhem at the polling place, and the fact that many were leaving without voting, Hussey said he and other Democrats asked the Board of Elections that the voting be shut down three times. All requests were refused.

Paper ballots are completed and placed in an envelope with the voter's signature and address on it. The law reportedly requires the sealed envelope be immediately placed in a locked box. Hussey faulted the manner in which affidavits were handled. With no box was available for several hours, he said, ballots were left unattended. Later, the ballots were guarded by a Monticello village police officer.

Friedland pointed to a potential for fraud in the way the affidavits were treated.

"Some people felt very uncomfortable marking the envelope [with their names], putting a ballot inside saying who they voted for," Hussey said. "A lot of the elderly people that came out said that was the only time they could come out to vote and they came to vote on the machines. The were not going to vote on a paper ballot and they couldn't come back," he said.

"I think the board of elections is 100% at fault. They had two years to prepare for this election, and they can't even do it right," Friedland said of the foul-up.

Police activity at polls
Sheriff Joseph Wasser questioned the unusual presence of village officers, who were actively campaigning against Friedland. "I asked Brennan why he had so many people there. He said he heard there might be a problem," Wasser said.

The police's apparent lead that there might be "a problem" at the polls led Democrats to question what was known before voting began about the bad poll-books, and who knew it.

Many voters were surprised to find the front parking lot of the Neighborhood Facility blocked by police barricades, with uniformed officers posted at the door all day and more inside. Patrol cars were stationed at the site, and chief Michael Brennan spent much of the day there. Two of the officers were on overtime pay, a source said. Wasser said he had never seen such a presence at a village election before.

Officers Brent Buckles and Salvator Accomando -- neither of whom reside or vote in Monticello -- drove people to and from the polls all day, observers said. Accomando is reportly on a promotional list for the rank of sergeant. He was among three officers suspended without pay last summer after an African-American man was severely beaten in the police station.

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