NEW CITY – With thousands of June Democratic Party primary absentee ballots uncounted, Justin Sweet has asked a state judge to oversee the process and place his name on the November ballot, leading his chief opponent to argue that Sweet wants to disenfranchise voters.
Sweet, the Clarkstown town clerk, denied the claim by Nyack Trustee Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, who said Wednesday that state Supreme Court Judge Robert Berliner rejected nearly all the arguments made by Sweet's attorney and the counting of the absentee ballots will proceed as planned.
Sweet filed the legal action Wednesday holding a 1,711-vote lead over Reichlin-Melnick and 3,593-vote lead over Spring Valley Trustee Eudson Francois, according to the legal action.
The winner apparently would face Republican William Weber of Ramapo on Nov. 3. Weber bested political newcomer Matthew Weinberg in the primary.
Sweet's lead is based on machine ballots from voting on June 25 and early voting. Unofficial tallies show Sweet getting 6,580 votes, Reichlin-Melnick 4,869 and Francois 2,987.
There are 15,024 uncounted absentee ballots, military votes and affidavits that have yet to be reviewed and certified.
The Rockland Board of Elections — overseeing the largest portion of the 38th Senate District — is scheduled to recanvass on July 7. The legal action said Westchester elections officials have not scheduled a recanvass or vote count for the Town of Ossining, the lone Westchester municipality in the district.
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Sweet's attorney, Michael Treybich, asks Judge Robert Berliner:
- to preserve the ballots;
- review irregular and possibly fraudulent returns from voting machines;
- preserve the voting machine ballots and determine where Sweet may have been deprived of votes by malfunctioning or tampered-with voting machines;
- protect Sweet's rights to have the court review all determinations of the election boards;
- to rule on the validity of all disputed ballots;
- to enjoin the certification of election results that would prejudice Sweet's rights.
Sweet's petition states there are invalid absentee ballots and that all ballots that the elections commissioners for each board don't agree on the validity of should be left to the judge.
Reichlin-Melnick's attorney, Daniel Szalkiewicz, said Sweet is looking to prevent the Board of Elections from counting the absentee ballots. Szalkiewicz called the injunction sought "burdensome and oppressive" and asked Berliner for time to argue against the legal action.
Reichlin-Melnick said in a Facebook post that any specific objections to ballots can be submitted until July 6.
The ballot fight adds to the animosity that grew during the campaign. Reichlin-Melnick attacked Sweet for his ties to the NRA, also noting Sweet said he would have voted against the state SAFE Act. Sweet countered by accusing Reichlin-Melnick of being aided by a real estate tycoon with ties to right-wing groups and President Trump.
Sweet said in a Facebook statement that his supporters should not take Reichlin-Melnick's word about disenfranchising voters "before seeing any proof."
Sweet noted Reichlin-Melnick worked to ensure election laws were followed — including challenging absentee ballots — when he worked for Orangetown Supervisor Andrew Stewart, who won close elections.
"Our opponent clearly knows Election Law, enough that he used it to remove a minority candidate from the ballot in this very race when our campaign made a pledge not to challenge any petitions during the height of the pandemic ... We are invoking the jurisdiction of the court to reserve our campaign's rights to review and our opponent hypocritically cries foul," Sweet stated.
Reichlin-Melnick is raising campaign money off Sweet's legal attempt and said he expects to win the election when the absentee ballots are canvassed, roughly 55% of the total vote. He has said he won four of Rockland's five towns, losing Ramapo as Sweet had thousands of votes from the Hasidic bloc vote.
He said Sweet's call to inspect each ballot could delay a conclusion for months.
"We believe that an election isn't over until all of the votes are counted," Reichlin-Melnick said. "That means you don't get to ask a judge to declare you the winner because you're afraid that voters disagree "
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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NY primary: Justin Sweet takes legal action on ballots in Senate race, seeks to be named winner - The Journal News
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