Rockland County, NY – Just days before the September 12th primary, incumbent Rockland County Executive Ed Day demanded an in depth investigation into a possibly fraudulent flood of new voter registration forms that added an additional 519 Conservative voters to the county’s books.
Day made his announcement at a Thursday morning press conference in front of the Rockland County courthouse, calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, the Board of Elections and state legislators to verify the accuracy of the new registrations.
Day is running unopposed on the Republican, Reform and Independence lines in his bid for a second term and is being challenged by Thomas Sullivan on the Conservative party line. He claimed that the new crop of Conservative voters is an attempt to unseat him and his efforts to stem uncontrolled growth in Ramapo.
“Let me publicly respond to those developers who look to compromise the health, environment and well-being of this county,” said Day. “Here is my message: the days of getting away with the destruction of communities are over.”
The number of new registrants is itself suspect, said Day who noted that just 122 Conservative voters registered in the county 2016, with 95 and 85 new voters added to party ranks in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
Another red flag is the fact that all of the new registrations came from a specific area of Ramapo, said Day, with most submitted by just three individuals on three separate days. Day also charged that many of the new registrants are already registered to vote in Brooklyn, Orange or Sullivan counties.
Day said that allegations of voter fraud have surfaced over the years, but that this was the first time that actual documentation existed to support those charges.
He also asked that all absentee ballots submitted from any of the new registrants be impounded so that they could be investigated for “potential criminal conduct” with charges to be brought should any fraudulent activity be found.