Voter challenges move forward

Bethel political parties join forces

By FRITZ MAYER

SMALLWOOD, NY — The chairwomen of the Republican, Democratic and Conservative parties were in attendance, which is not a common occurrence in local politics, especially with important local elections just weeks away. This, speakers said, is an indication that this is not a political matter, but rather one about community.

A crowd of about 50 people turned out for a fundraising event at Friends Pub in Smallwood on October 11 to raise money to help pay legal fees for Voters for Election Integrity (VEI). The group is preparing to challenge the voting registrations of up to 190 people who spend one to nine weeks in bungalow colonies in the Town of Bethel and spend the rest of the year elsewhere.

Michael McGuire, a Liberty lawyer, who is one of the founders of VEI, went to some lengths to point out the differences between people who spend time in a bungalow in the summer and those who are often called weekenders and who may own second homes in the county.

McGuire, citing case law from Bovina, NY in 2008, said that the second homeowners there won the right to vote in Bovina because, “the court found that, although they had another place where they worked or their children went to school, those people had a significant and genuine connection to the Town of Bovina in Delaware County. The court considered, for example, the fact that the homeowners spent weekends there during the winter; they spent holidays and vacation time there. They had long-term continuing contacts there. They had a true desire to be part of the Bovina community. They had bank accounts there. They owned homes. Is home ownership alone a criterion? No, but it is something that has to be considered, so says the law of the state of New York.”

Asked about the research VEI is doing regarding the bungalow colonies, and issues such as tax status and rental arrangements, county legislator David Sager, another VEI founder, issued the following statement: “We are doing research to understand bungalow colonies and how they function in Bethel. Based on NY state election law and our research, we believe we have a good-faith basis to challenge many of the recent registrations. Given the circumstances surrounding the registrations from bungalow colonies, and the material we will present to the board of elections, we think the registrations we challenge will not satisfy the test of residency under the statute and under the reasoning of the appellate court in the Bovina case of 2008. This is why we believe the board of elections will ultimately ask the Sullivan County sheriff to conduct an investigation as set forth in the election law to look at challenged registrations individually on a case by case basis.”

The River Reporter is continuing an effort to contact the people whose registrations will be challenged.