Airmont: Certified election results with absentee ballots show bigger win for mayor's team
AIRMONT - The just finalized election tallies with 265 absentee ballots added extended the overwhelming victory by Mayor Nathan Bubel's team, according to the Village Clerk's Office.
The village clerk first released the machine votes from the March 21 election without including the absentee ballots — a situation strongly criticized. The absentee votes - usually tallied on election night - were counted a week later and finalized on March 30.
The total tally came to 2,251 votes - 1,986 machine votes and 265 absentee ballots, Village Clerk Sharon Halon's final count released Friday states. The absentee tally broke at 183 votes for the Bubel team to 82 for Ralph Bracco and his two running mates.
Bubel won a second four-year term with 1,504 combined votes to 737 for Bracco, according to the final tally. For the two four-year trustee seats, Trustee Morris Friedman and Lawrence Toole received a total of 1,504 votes to 738 for Marcal Matthews and 734 for Joseph Sferrazza.
Village clerks, who run local elections, must include all votes when certifying an election.
Airmont special counsel Brian Nugent said Halon didn't oversee the absentee vote count on election night on the advice of an election inspector assigned by the Rockland Board of Elections.
Nugent said of Halon, "She was relying on statements from the election inspector" when the decision was made not to count the absentee ballots on election night. The ballots counting takes time as inspectors need to check the absentees against those who voted by machine to ensure no double-voting, the required practice.
Nugent said he disagreed with the advice of the election inspector.
"My view is to count every vote," Nugent said. "Count them that night and be done with it."
The Village of Airmont issued an unsigned statement through its Twitter account defending Halon and her staff: "The elections inspector, supplied by Patricia Giblin's @RCBOElections, refused to stick around for an absentee count. The blame here is misplaced."
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Giblin, whose office has no control over village elections, called Halon's false certification based on the machine votes disgraceful and a violation of a basic American principle that all votes matter.
Giblin said the Airmont Village Clerk's Office was supposed to count the absentee ballots on the night of the election before certifying the final vote and winners. She said her co-commissioner, Democrat Kathy Pietanza, got correspondence from the Village Clerk's Office certifying the March 21 election.
"They were supposed to have that done that night," Giblin said. "They never counted those absentees, which is a disgrace.
"Once we found out they didn’t count the votes, we were outraged and told them it's mandatory that every vote should be counted," Giblin said. "It's not fair to those people who vote absentee. It’s like upholding the myth we don’t bother with people's votes if we get them after the election."
Halon, a village board political appointee who had limited experience, didn't return a telephone call on Tuesday or respond to a Monday email seeking comment.
Bubel, who didn't respond, has not directly responded to questions during his first four years in office. The village board has directed that Nugent speaks for the village.
Bracco, a former village mayor and trustee, said Tuesday he got the cold shoulder from Halon when he asked for the final tallies and the number of absentee ballots. He noted vote totals and ballots are available to the public.
Bracco said his running mate Matthews filed an objection concerning the election results with Halon's office, a move he acknowledged likely wouldn't get serious consideration.
"She refused to give me the election results," Bracco said. "We have in my opinion a person who is not qualified to be village clerk-treasurer. I've been in politics for a long time and this has never happened. I believe election law has been violated by not opening up absentee ballots and certifying the vote."
Bracco acknowledged the absentee ballots wouldn't change the outcome and he accepted the results. He has been a critic of the government and has taken the village to court.
"Our point is elections are supposed to be open and honest," he said. "That's all we’re asking for."
Bracco had served as village clerk as a 2019 appointee but was suspended in March 2020 by the mayor pending an investigation into allegations of workplace harassment. Bracco denied any harassment and nothing was shown if there was an investigation.
Bracco sought reinstatement through the courts. His lawyer, Terry Rice of Suffern, argued the village lacked the legal authority to suspend or dismiss an employee without holding a hearing under state law. Bracco's term had expired amid the case and the judge dismissed aspects of the case and didn't rule on legal fees and other issues.
Bracco filed another legal action against the village in December seeking monetary reimbursements, including attorney's fees. Airmont's attorneys through its insurance carrier have moved to dismiss the legal action. The case is pending.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Airmont NY election was certified without absentees votes
