No less than two useless voters had absentee ballots submitted beneath their names in a tightly contested GOP major final month between two south Brooklyn Metropolis Council hopefuls — with the winner nonetheless up for grabs.
Each Juliet Windvan and Antoinette Garzaniti voted within the District 47 major between Brooklyn Republican chairman Richie Barsamian and George Sarantopoulous — regardless of data displaying each died over a decade in the past — metropolis Board of Elections paperwork completely obtained by The Publish reveal.
A 3rd voter, 87-year-old William Allen, additionally stated that regardless of not casting a poll within the major, he had obtained a “cure notice,” which voters get when their ballots comprise errors like a lacking signature.
“These apparent facts really call for a district attorney investigation,” election lawyer Martin Connor stated. “They need to find out how someone other than the voter was able to obtain and submit the absentee ballots.”
Sarantopoulous is presently main Barsamian by a mere 32 votes, in response to the Board of Elections’ newest unofficial tallies.
A recount is being held Tuesday.
Linda Smith, Garzaniti’s daughter, was fully dismayed when she discovered of the weird circumstances, whereas confirming with The Publish that her mom had handed away.
“That is amazing,” she stated. “I discover this unbelievable. Sure, we nonetheless acquired ballots for her. They have been ripped up and thrown out.
“So I want to know, who is doing it?”
Makes an attempt to succeed in Windvan’s household have been unsuccessful, however Social Safety data point out that she died in 2007.
Justin Allen and his father, William, stated they tore up the dad’s absentee poll when it arrived within the mail as a result of though he’s a registered Republican, he normally votes Democratic.
“I think it’s terrible that somebody cast a ballot in my father’s name, especially in an election that was so close and that whoever committed fraud, would have been a fraud getting elected,” Justin Allen stated.
Sarantopolous known as the matter “shocking and concerning.”
Even so, voter fraud continues to be thought-about uncommon within the Large Apple and throughout the US, in response to John Kaehny, govt director of watchdog group Reinvent Albany.
“It’s hard to get away with, and very easy to detect if done in a big enough way to affect an election,” Kaehny added. “That doesn’t stop various knuckleheads from trying.”
Councilman Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn Democrat who’s term-limited out of the seat at yr’s finish, known as for the matter to be instantly probed.
“You can’t make this up. Dead people voting and living voters calling my office to say someone cast a ballot in their name,” Brannan stated in an announcement. “And don’t overlook the chair of the Republican Occasion, who appoints BOE employees, was on the poll.
“This one really stinks of voter fraud and demands a full and swift investigation.”
Barsamian’s marketing campaign and the Board of Elections didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The Brooklyn District Lawyer’s workplace advised The Publish it couldn’t touch upon investigations.
