FINGAR: NOLAN AND MARTIN MISLEAD CITIZENS AGAIN
GOP Chair Cites Numerous Examples of Unqualified Voters
PRESS RELEASE
12-13-09 - Columbia County Republican Chairman Greg Fingar today commented upon the continued election saga affecting the Town of Taghkanic and the misleading information which county Democrat Chair Chris Nolan and Election Commissioner Virginia Martin continue to spread as to the facts of that case. Fingar said that Nolan and Martin have undertaken a long-term effort to win elections in the county to bring unqualified voters into the process, thereby “stacking the political deck.”
“The court pleadings submitted to the Appellate Division in Albany in the ongoing Taghkanic election case once again indicated that Nolan and Martin will apparently stop at nothing in their efforts to mischaracterize this matter. They have told people that regardless of their actual legal attachment to the county, they could vote in local elections.
“What people should be astonished about is the degree to which Democrat leaders have conspired to stack the decks in local elections by procuring absentee ballots from voters who are not qualified to vote here under the state Election Law. Over 20 percent of all votes cast in the Town of Taghkanic in the 2009 election were via absentee ballot. This is far beyond what is normally a result of having to be away from the county due to business, education, or health reasons.
“The abuse of absentee ballots is an invitation to election fraud. We looked into the qualifications of absentee voters in Taghkanic and other towns and were astonished at what we found. In Taghkanic, for instance, we found that many absentee ballots were cast by persons who have STAR property tax exemptions on their homes in other locations, primarily New York City. Many of these same voters have a New York City address on their driver licenses. In addition, many ballots were cast by persons having signed second home riders on mortgages which secure Columbia County property. These second home riders explicitly state that the Columbia County property is their secondary home and not their primary residence. Still others have rent regulated apartments in NYC— eligibility for such is premised upon this being their actual residence. |
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Greg Fingar (right) conferring with attorney James Walsh outside the Columbia County Courthouse on December 3. |
“The law is clear: one can only claim a STAR property tax exemption or receive a rent-regulated apartment on a primary home. Also, if one has moved to another address, the state DMV has to be notified within 10 days of the new address. Nolan and Martin have routinely misled people into thinking that they were qualified to vote here despite having property tax breaks elsewhere on their homes, driver licenses with out of county addresses and mortgage documents certifying that their primary residence is out of Columbia County.
“This issue is important because many elections in the Town of Taghkanic were closely contested. While Supervisor Betty Young’s victory is now mathematically certain, based upon votes tallied as a result of the order of Judge Nichols, other races in that town are too close to call. It would be unfair and unjust if these elections were decided based on votes of persons who are not qualified to vote in Taghkanic.
“Nolan and Martin would have people believe that anyone can simply choose to vote in Columbia County by a simple stroke of a pen. That is plainly not what is intended by the New York State Election Law and numerous court decisions interpreting this statute. And, I think most people understand that a person should be voting where they legally qualified to vote,” concluded Fingar.
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