Challenged voters could turn Bethel vote

County questionnaire produced

By FRITZ MAYER

TOWN OF BETHEL, NY — Supervisor Dan Sturm is 180 votes ahead of former supervisor Harold Russell, so Sturm’s ultimate victory seems fairly certain. But the votes for the two open council seats are more narrow, with Richard Crumley at 773, Denise Frangipane at 716 and Benji Friehling at 619. So, the outcome might hinge on the decision of the board of election as to whether the votes of a number of bungalow colony residents are valid.

The grassroots group Voters for Election Integrity (VEI) challenged 152 registrations, mostly of Hasidic voters who listed their local addresses as being in bungalow colonies. None of the challenged voters showed up at the polls on November 3 to vote in person. If they had, they would have been required to sign an oath saying that they were going to be truthful; then they would have had to fill out a questionnaire with 26 detailed questions about matters relating to residency in Sullivan County.

Among the questions were whether the registrant lived in a single-family home, a bungalow or a mobile home, and whether the home is approved for year-round use. There was also a question about whether the voter leased, rented or owned the home, and the registrant was asked to attach a copy of the lease or rental agreement. There were questions about drivers licenses and what address they listed and if the applicant had ever applied for a STAR property tax exemption, and if so, where.

Many of the questions reflect the concerns enumerated in the challenges filed with the board by lawmaker David Sager on October 27.

Though none of the challenged voters showed up at the polls in person, about 150 applied for absentee ballots. Some of those were disqualified immediately. About 30 who listed their local addresses as being a building at Cohen and Cohen Roads and left no forwarding address were eliminated. Another 30 or so who requested that absentee ballots be sent to the same post office box in White Lake were also eliminated.

That leaves about 90 that the board must decide upon. All of the registrants were sent a copy of the questionnaire on October 29, and were asked to fill it out and return it within 10 days. Information sent with the questionnaire said that it would be a “determining factor” in the board’s determination on the validity of the registrations. As of November 10, more than ninety of the questionnaires had been returned through the office of Liberty Lawyer Gerald Orseck, who did not return callsw seeking comment.

Some who closely follow Bethel politics say that if the challenged voters are deemed to be valid, they will vote as a block for Benji Friehling; Friehling did not return a call seeking comment. However, if the board approves a large number of the challenged voters, it seems likely that VEI will take the county to court over the matter.

Also, there are about 200 other absentee ballots filed by Bethel voters who have not been challenged, and those votes will also play a role in determining the election outcome. All of the absentee ballots must be opened on the same day and, as of this writing, that is also tentatively scheduled for November 17.

The race in Callicoon

While there are no challenged voters involved, another race that might be changed by absentee and affidavit ballots is the one in the Town of Callicoon. While local media outlets declared on the night of the election that councilman Tom Bose had defeated supervisor Linda Babicz in the race, there is a slim chance that Babicz could still retain the seat.

As of now, Bose is ahead of Babicz by 22 votes, but there are 26 absentee ballots and 17 affidavit ballots, so the final outcome has yet to be determined.

The same is true of the race for two council seats where Charles Schadt has 621 votes, Scott Gaebel has 620 and Cindy Geiger has 602.

In the highway superintendent’s race, David Erlwein has 501 and Kris Scullion has 532.