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In recent decades we have experienced a sea change in what we once called America and American. Every traditional institution has been torn down, we no longer have the foundations of family or tradition; anxiety, frustration, anger are everywhere. Global pandemics, real or conspiracy driven, have enabled government to erode civil and constitutional rights; the so-called emergency powers and measures are slowly being made permanent. One of those emergency measures adopted in 2019 was voting by mail, at the time we were told it was only temporary, now it is New York law! It may be convenient but it creates nightmarish problems and it’s going to add a lot more to the election services bill.
Cities like New York City have attempted to hand non-citizens the vote but luckily, what’s left of the American judicial system struck down another “local measure” that would set a precedent and open the flood gates to giving non-citizens to vote even outside local NYC elections! If you’re awake, you can read the writing on the wall.
Law enforcement and the courts have been weaponized, and work against citizens and their cherished rights. Elected public officers regularly abuse their offices and corruption is rampant, riding roughshod everywhere from the local village to the highest offices in Washington.
Citizens, particularly working class, veterans, and the elderly now are second to illegal aliens.
We used to think that we had a voice in everything that goes on in our government but that appears to have changed, too. Changes in the methods and modes of participating in the once democratic process through a representative democracy by and through the vote is now in jeopardy. Voter registrations are contaminated, polluted, inaccurate, and unreliable, and the so-called custodians of those records so essential to our national security and domestic tranquility, are inept, incompetent, defensive, and, well, pardon my French, stupid. On top of all that, they’re arrogant and ignorant.
The problem lies in the fact that a similar bunch, the legislators we elect are beholden to the boards of election because the boards of election run the elections that put those characters in office! The clowns that run the boards of election are recommended to the legislatures by the political party committees, and the legislatures appoint the commissioners of the boards of election. You’d almost say there was a conflict of interest here. Who’s checking whom? The fox appears to be guarding the henhouse!
This article is about a grassroots citizens voting and election advocacy group, New York Citizens Audit (“NYCA”) and their efforts to draw attention to the need to “open the books,” “to balance the checkbook,” to audit the New York State voter registration rolls, and clean them up. It’s also about the lies, defamations, ambushes, and foul play they’re being subjected to by the New York State Board of Elections and even county boards of election, like the Greene County Board of Election, and how the county legislatures, like the Greene County Legislature, is playing ball with the boards of election at the expense of citizens and voters.
We, as Americans, have hit bottom; we’ve reached an historic low, when we allow our public servants to misinform, slander, defame, offend, and discredit the good faith efforts of volunteer organizations like New York Citizens Audit, good courageous patriots who spend their precious time and hard earned bucks to stand up for the rights of those standing around playing pocket pool or with their thumbs up their arses. Smalbany stands behind such groups and will never allow the scoundrels and special interests succeed in demoralizing or discrediting good honest efforts to prevent the disenfranchisement of America.
Let this article stand as a warning to the appointees and to the elected public officials we cite in this article, we are watching!
In letters with identical wording sent to the executive director of the New York State Sheriffs Association (NYSSA), Peter Kehoe, the executive Director of the District Attorneys Association of New York State (DAANYS), John J. Flynn, and to Stephen J. Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC), the New York State Board of Elections (NYS BoE) co-executive directors Kristen Zebrowski-Stavisky (“Stavisky”) and Raymond J. Riley III (“Riley”) unfairly and wantonly characterize the grassroots voter rights advocacy group New York Citizens Audit (“NYCA”) as “a group of misinformed individuals” who allege that “countless fake voters” are or have been “inserted into the [voter] registration database … in order to create invalid votes” and “to sway elections.”
In that same November 28, 2024, letter the NYS BoE, through Stavisky and Riley, further misinform their unwitting — and perhaps unwilling — audience contending that NYCA “claim that no elections should be certified in New York State,” that there are numerous “counterfeit registrations,” and illegal “actions by those who run elections.”
As if that weren’t enough drama, NYS BoE deceitfully maintain that the claims they say NYCA are making are “fabricated claims,” “embellished and misleading,” “ill-informed reports,” and “misinterpreted passages of state and federal law.” None of this proves to be valid, and is a fabrication of NYS BoE.
NYS BoE falsely conclude that NYCA is claiming that the “2020 and 2022 elections were fraudulent.” NYCA does not make that claim anywhere.
NYS BoE, through co-executive directors Zebrowski-Stavisky and Riley, misinform the directors of the NYS Association of Counties, District Attorneys Association of New York State, and the New York State Sheriffs Association that “claims made by the [NYAC] organization are false” and accuse NYAC of “ignorance of voter registration process” and “willful disregard of basic fact” but NYS BoE doesn’t mention which facts. Such a sweeping accusation cannot be afforded any credibility.
It seems that the only fabrications and embellishments, and false claims were made by Stavisky and Riley of the NYS BoE, and further spread by county boards of election like the Greene County Board of Election and its commissioners, Brent Bogardus (Rep) and Marie Metzler (Dem).
The New Yorks State Board of Elections (” NYS BoE“) and the county boards have their backs up against the wall; they’re forced into a corner by honest citizens asking really important questions, and demanding some incriminating answers, and all the NYS BoE can come up with is name-calling, abuse, and insults!
With such a record for disinformation and ignorance, and given the drama and wild statements, it comes as no surprise that the NYS BoE felt the need for additional fact-checking – so the NYS BoE — like any middle-schooler desperate for support — goes to the Internet; after all, where else to the ignorant and unsophisticated go for their fact[oid]s? So, NYS BoE was fact-starved and had to get some support somewhere, so they turned to a political website, a site called Politifact, and refers to a single phrase taken out of context, for fact-checking. Pretty silly but that’s what they did.
So, since NYCA made so many “malicious claims,” the NYS BoE had to find some “explanations to many of the claims,” and since they don’t have any of their own, they ask Politifact to provide them with some. Bad move, NYS BoE! You need to get some new co-executive directors and send Staviski and Riley to China.
What we find most hilarious is the fact that NYS BoE through Staviski and Riley actually write that “no one has seen the actual data used by this group.” But that shouldn’t come as a surprise, as you’ll find out below. Spoiler: NYCA was using and is still using updated versions of the NYS BoE’s own voter registration database! Now why wouldn’t NYS BoE be aware of that, we have to wonder. For details, see below!
NYS BoE also claims that “the press has not seen the voter list used,” not that that means anything. Just another shot in the dark. Why would that be important under the circumstances, anyway. No matter, given everything else these drama queens Stawiski and Riley have concocted, why not throw that in, too?
So, now, they claim “misunderstandings of data” based on the of the fact-checking website Politifact, that issued a “ruling” of “false” against one of the NYCA‘s alleged claims. “Ruling?” Don’t courts hand down rulings?
Please don’t misunderstand. We are not dignifying Politifact by mentioning them here; we are just pointing out how desperate the NYS BoE is getting in trying to discredit Truth and Honesty, two qualities that are glaringly absent at NYS BoE and their county boards.
For those of you who like a bit of weird humor and need a laugh, we include a link below to the Politifact conclusions Stawiski and Riley include as an attachment to their letters. We apologize, but we are not going to waste any more time or effort discussion such rubbish here, and so we’ll move on.
Anyone who finds an irregularity or picks up on something inconvenient for the boards of elections get labeled “election deniers” and are accused of “efforts to spread mis- and disinformation” and having the “the intended goal of confusing voters” and “eroding their trust in our democratic processes.” Actually, the NYS BoE, their co-executive directors, and their local county boards don’t need much help doing that on their own.
One statement that really got our dander up is when Staviski and Riley write that “trust is further eroded with each local legislature that signs onto a resolution.” How dare they trespass into our legislatures and imply that legislators make their decisions, deliberate resolutions, vote and pass resolutions “not based on fact” and potentially disseminate “election mis- and disinformation.” NYS BoE is abusing, insulting, and attacking the elected public officers who appoint their lousy commissioners to the county boards. NYS BoE’s arrogance and ignorance is mind-boggling … and offensive!
Well, if our legislators were to sign on to a resolution not based on fact or refuse to sign on to a resolution that is based on fact, either of those situations would put them in the same boat as the NYS BoE and Staviski and Riley, the letter writing brainless. They’d also be eligible for admission to an institution for the criminally stupid.
Since we’re discussing data, statistics, and numbers, we found the number of negative words and phrases used in the NYS BoE letter so unusual and even overwhelming, we decided to count the negatives in relation to the rest of the words in the letter. We found that the body of the letter contains 495 words. Of those 495 words a total of 203 were negative or part of a negative phrase. That means that 41% or nearly half of the letter is negative. If the negatives were based on fact they would at least have some purpose or meaning but they are not factual, they are thoroughly histrionic and pure drama. What a waste of time and energy paid for by taxpayers.
Kristen Zebrowski-Stavisky and Raymond J. Riley III, the authors of the NYS BoE letters, are co-executive directors at the New York State Board of Elections (NYS BoE).
The NYS BoE letter to County Boards of Elections, Commissioners, Directors, and Staff
Earlier, Staviski fired off a similar letter, this time sent to the County Board of Elections Commissioners, directors, and staff, NYS BoE co-executive director Kristen Zebrowski-Stavisky, continues the defamatory and childish mud-slinging. Again we have extracted some of her ingenious phraseology as illustrations of what we accurately diagnose to be criminal stupidity: total words in the letter = 266, of which 111 are negative. Again we get a letter that matches almost identically to the one described above! Well, at least the stupidity is reasonably consistent. Is that a plus? What we’re asking is whether being consistently stupid is actually a good thing?
Here we go! Again. NYS BoE, through co-exec director Kristen Zebrowski-Stavisky, says that NYCA claims that New York State’s voter registration database contains unidentified or “cloned” voters that are casting ballots in elections,” and that “these claims are unequivocally false,” spreading misinformation.
Now speaking to the NYS BoE minions in the county boards of election, Stavisky says the NYCA claims are “baseless” — actually, there are no such claims — and that they “insult” the county boards’ “service to the people” and “undermine the extensive record keeping processes we know you follow…, protecting our democracy from bad actors,” that is, “those who create malicious claims to feed a false narrative predicated on a fictional analysis of voter data,” and that they need to “dispel this distortion of the truth” and the “the majority of false claims.”
Well, it seems that this might be a direct quote from some fascist propaganda manual, doesn’t it. It seems to us that NYS BoE is getting really hysterical and emotional about the suggestion that they might be doing something irregular, doesn’t it?
Here, too, NYS BoE and Staviski claim that “no one has seen the actual data used to create the false claims” but, as we pointed out above, and as NYCA has stated numerous times, the data they are using was provided by the NYS BoE in response to a request made under the provisions of the New York State Freedom of Information Law!
The statement “without seeing their ‘data’ “ is disingenuous at best, since, and again, the NYS BoE is intentionally misinforming their readers. The NYS BoE knows very well that the NYCA is using official voter roll data taken from the NYS BoEs own database, which was provided by the NYS BoE, a database that is comprised of the inputs from the county boards of election! So any questions that are being asked come from that data, as we point out below. Thus, NYS BoE, if you want to see the data being used, just check your own dbase.
If NYS BoE, Stawiski, Riley, Bogardus and Metzler (Greene Co. BoE) are not aware of the source of the data when it’s right under their noses they should be shamed; if they do know the source of the data and are publishing a false and misleading statement that they know to be untrue, they should be prosecuted for undermining the infrastructure of national security, an act of domestic terrorism!
The only “bad actors” in this sitcom are the clowns at NYS BoE and the county boards!
Stawiski makes a bizarre statement, “tn place of those explanations” – In place of what explanations? If NYS BoE and Stawiski claim in the preceding sentence that they are providing explanations and in the next sentence say that they are providing a list of facts “in place of those explanations,” what in hell are they saying? Well, they are referring to several pages of gibberish that we are struggling to understand.
They then go on to add “a list of facts regarding your list maintenance processes” – We’re also struggling to understand why the state Board of Elections would have to provide the county boards of elections, the elections commissioners, directors, and staff with such a list of such facts? Shouldn’t they already know them? If they don’t, maybe that’s one of the problems, don’t you think so?
NYS BoE says they need the county boards’ help to “cull the spread of misinformation” – Obviously, they need to start internally, first with the state Board of Elections by getting rid of a couple of incompetent co-executive directors, and then working on down through the county boards, the commissioners, directors, and finally the staff. Maybe then we’ll be able to “cull the spread of misinformation,” and only then.
The Greene County Board of Elections
The Greene County Board of Elections (GCBoE) is just as out of focus and clueless on the issues as the NYS BoE; that’s because the GCBoE doesn’t do any original, local thinking on their own and is playing per the NYS BoE script. GCBoE’s so-called explanations are just as empty because they’re the same as NYS BoE’s.
Point in fact: At the January 8 and the February 26, 2024, meetings of the County Services Committee (“CSC”) of the Greene County Legislature (“GCL”), in response to questions asked by the legislators, the GCBoE responds by referring to “state board correspondence,” meaning that he relies on the NYS BoE’s letters we discussed above, and so-called “explanations!”[1] Our illustrious Greene County legislators were soaking up every drop of the venom while deciding to vote down a resolution they had never seen and would only see more than 3 months later.
In fact, again on February 12, during the discussions following the NYCA presentation before that same committee, Bogardus launches into a diatribe, a tantrum almost quoting the statements in those letters![2] Republican commissioner Brent Bogardus constantly referred to the NYS BoEs correspondence, while Democratic commissioner Marie Metzler and her lackey deputy Schieren sat there shooting blanks in the dark. That all didn’t matter very much because Green County Legislators were engaging in verbal self-pleasuring and not hearing a word or making sense of anything going on, while they were kissing the arses of their appointees on the GCBoE, Bogardus and Metzler.
It’s all in the official minutes of the County Services Committee of the Greene County Legislature, particularly where the legislators are discussing whether to invite the NYCA to present their findings in the NYS BoE data to the Legislature. (See link below, CSC GLC 8Jan24 Minutes.)
Not much can be said about anything the GCBOE provided by way of information or explanation at the January 8, 2024, or the February 12, 2024, County Services Committee meeting at which NYCA executive director Marly Hornick presented the data from the NYS BoE’s own NYSVoters database, you know, the database NYS BoE knows nothing about.
Again, the GCBoE is desperately clinging to the sagging breasts, as if they hope to get something worth swallowing from a sterile nag. But all that the NYS BoE seems capable of doing is embarrassing themselves sending out inflammatory and defamatory but baseless and meaningless letters and so-called fact sheets, better described as factoid sheets, to every conceivable association representing law enforcement and county governments! And, while the GCBoE has no explanations or responsive answers, they continue to blindly follow the example of the NYS BoE by defending themselves with finger-pointing and name-calling but not offering a single answer or explanation that makes any sense at all!
Citizens and voters in Greene County cannot avoid asking themselves when their elected public officers in the Greene County Legislature are finally going to rein in their appointees on the Greene County Board of Elections?
The New York Citizens Audit Presentation on February 12, 2024
As we noted above, on February 12, 2024, the group the NYS BoE and GCBoE are spending so much time calling nasty names and disparaging, was invited by the Greene County Legislature to give presentation of their findings gathered using Guess what? the NYS BoE’s own dbase, the NYSVoters dbase. The presentation and the meeting were public and attended by the Greene County legislators and members of the public. (Please see the attendee list, if you are interested, in the official minutes of that meeting at the CSC GSL 12Feb24 Minutes link, below).[3]
Since the minutes are available to the public, we won’t delve into the actual presentation but we’d like to point out just a couple of things that discredit anything the NYS BoE or the GCBoE have said about NYCA. We are making some general points to show just how sneaky and dishonest our state and county elections officials are!
After all, they are recommended by their respective county political party committee but appointed by the elected public officers serving as legislators in the Greene County Legislature, aren’t they?
Right at the start of her presentation, Ms Hornick identifies the source of NYCA’s information and data: Ms Hornick states, “What I will show you is from the New York State Board of Elections database for Greene County.”[4] Remember how the NYS BoE claimed in their November 28, 2024, letter to the DA, Sheriffs, and Counties associations, “It should be noted that no one has seen the actual data used by this group.”[5] Yet, Ms Hornick actually identifies NYCA‘s source as the NYS BoE‘s own database!!! Is the NYS BoE saying they’ve never seen their own data! Big problem here and we’d like to have some explanation from the NYS BoE!
The NYS BoE consistently attempts to paint the NYCA as a malicious organization but Ms Hornick explains to the Legislature, “I want everyone to know that New York Citizens Audit has no horse in the race; we don’t represent any party; we don’t represent any candidate; and we have no connect, no stake in the outcome of any particular election.” Hornick then informs the Legislature why she’s there, “We’re concerned about the accuracy and compliance of our elections….”[6] and “[I]f the system is accurate then everyone can have confidence in the result.”[7] That’s pretty clear and its something we all should be interested in, isn’t it.
Hornick then quotes from several historical sources, from the Constitution, from federal law, which apparently goes a bit beyond the comprehension level of some of the legislators and they get a bit confused and lost, but to Hornick’s credit, it’s important to know some background, and she does provide and share it generously.
Hornick again states where her data on Greene County is coming from, “So, again, these are all registration records, this is raw data from the New York State Board of Elections pertaining to Greene County.” But the NYS BoE has never seen this data! Or so they say but we’re watching and listening; they’re getting caught in their lies.
Hornick actually apologizes for the data by saying, “I’m not saying that there’s not some kind of plausible explanation, but I think he people of the United States of America deserve an explanation line-by-line.” Hornick is referring to some very bizarre entries in the NYS BoE dbase that show an individual voting in 2012 but registering to vote in 2023; another one who voted in 2022 but registered in 2023. Note that these are examples being shown to Legislators directly from the NYS BoE dbase — the one no one has ever seen, according to the NYS BoE and the GCBoE
Hornick makes explicitly clear that she is merely pointing out irregularities in the dbase as illustrative examples but she makes no claims, interpretations, or accusations. She sticks to the black and white evidence and the facts.
Again, Hornick emphasizes, “I’m no trying to accuse anyone of anything. I have no idea why this happened, but this happened.”[8] Does this sound to you like someone malicious?
Again and again throughout the presentation, Hornick reminds Legislators that the data is coming from the NYS BoE voter dbase.
Quoting a United States Department of Justice publication on prosecution of election fraud, Hornic states, “…the DOJ calls that fraud, just to be honest That’s not me.” Hornick is not calling fraud as the NYS BoE misleadingly states; in fact, she’s actually denying she’s making any such statement! She further qualifies her source by saying, “…were not on social media right now talking about dirty voter rolls, we’re looking at what the Department of Justice…calls fraud.”
Rest assured, loyal readers, we have obtained a copy of the DOJ publication referred to by Hornick, and we have verified her statements.
Hornick goes to several other examples to show how crazy the NYS voter registration database is. She points out one record in the NYS BoE database that shows a registered voter who is 174 years old, born on January 1, 1850, who last voted in 2018, and whose registration is “inactive.”[9] Note that this voter is “inactive,” but it’s not a problem for this long-dead voter because, as Hornick explains, “If you go to the polls they [the 174 year-old] can vote … you bring them [the poll workers] an electric bill and they’ll give you a ballot.” It’s true. That’s the law.
Hornick points out another case. This time it’s a registered voter born on March 13, 105, 118 years old, and who voted in Greene County in the 2022 election. Mr Bogardus and Ms Metzler did not respond in anyway whatsoever to this data. — Now, remember, Hornick is presenting Greene County voter registration data from the NYS BoE dbase. — Nor our elections commissioners bat an eye to the case of an individual who, according to the voter database, was born on August 3, 2004, registered to vote on September 24, 2004, and last voted on November 2, 2004! Hornick goes on to point out numerous other such cases in the voter registration rolls kept by the NYS BoE and the GCBoE to Legislators and the GCBoE commissioners and their deputies present.
Hornick is very straightforward and makes no disparaging remarks and doesn’t accuse anyone. She just uses the NYS BoE’s and the GCBoEs own dbase, and asks questions about what anyone can plainly see! Urging the legislators to support NYCA’s call for an audit, she explains, “We’re not even saying we need a criminal investigation. We’re saying we need to open up the books, New York State needs to open up the books and find out how our system is broken. Where are the gaps, right? That’s what you do; that’s why you have audits.”[10]
In response to legislators’ questions, Hornick points out discrepancies and irregularities in the voter I.D. numbers assigned to individuals registering, and identification problems with mismatches, duplicated I.D. numbers, and different numbers identifying the same registration at the county and state levels. Complete confusion![11]
So far, Hornick has identified the source of the data — Greene County registrations from the NYS BoE voter registration dbase —at least three times but one legislator, Gregory Davis (Rep, Greenville) must have been asleep through the first half of the presentation because he wakes up and asks, “So this, this data you’re showing us, where does it come from?” Hornick replies, once AGAIN,
“We received it from the New York State Board of Elections pursuant to a Freedom of Information Law request. This is the New York State voter roll they gave us. This particular set of data was requested on July 3rd, of 2023. So, this is all, that’s the most recent copy that New York, actually, we have a more recent copy now, but we haven’t done analysis on it yet.”
So this is the data received from the New York State Board of Elections pursuant to a F.O.I.L., the New York state voter roll provided by the NYS BoE, the data the NYS BoE repeatedly says they have never seen and no one knows where the data is coming form.
In contrast with the statements made and the negative comments made by the NYS BoE about NYCA and how they are malicious, ill informed, etc. Hornick again states that NYCA is not calling foul or accusing anyone but points out so-called “deadwood,” a term used by the US DOJ,[12] and she cautiously explains,
“It doesn’t mean that anything necessarily happened, but they’re inherently suspicious because they don’t belong in the database; they’re not people who are eligible to vote at this time.”[13]
Remember the Internet fact-finding site, Politifact, we mentioned earlier. This is where we get into the attempted misinformation by the NYS BoE when they cite that so-called report by Politifact. The BoE thought that the Politifact website’s “ruling” was so important that the NYS BoE included it in their letters of November 28, 2023, apparently thinking that it would persuade their minions that their “facts” were borne out and proved by some online site reporter’s analysis. But they took the statement they analyzed out of context, to make their analysis work. This is what Politifact and the NYS BoE and GCBoE wanted readers to believe:
“The claim is startling: New York’s election results in 2022 might not be trustworthy because there were more votes than voters.
In a report on the 2022 election, New York Citizens Audit, a group of people who have cast doubt on election administration, claimed there were 35,312 more votes cast than there were voters who voted.
“Certification of New York’s 2022 general election appears to be a federal crime; a civil rights violation acting under color of law. Why?” the group wrote.”
So it’s “starling” — not really. It’s not startling because it’s expected based on the innumerable lies and false assertions made by the NYS BoE co-executive directors and used by the GCBoE. Here’s what Hornick actually says:
“We had a slight problem when we tried to reconcile the 2022 election because the number of votes counted, according to the New York State Board of Elections website, is different than the number of voters who voted according to the New York State voter roll database and so it looks like thirty-five thousand three hundred and twelve more votes were counted than voters who voted, and again, NYSVoter, under Federal Law, is the official record for the registration and participation of voters in the State of New York. It is a, a Federally protected document. … So, we need to look into that. … So, when you have a twelve percent error rate and you have a margin of victory less than that, the system was not capable of producing a trustworthy result. It just wasn’t, it, you, it’s not that there’s anything wrong, is that we don’t know, we just don’t know, we’re not certain. … So, we are way out of compliance and we are nowhere near an accuracy standard that is legally certifiable. Again, I don’t know if there’s an explanation for all seven hundred and forty-five thousand of those instances where a registration record that doesn’t comport with the law, casts a vote. I don’t know, but that’s an awful lot of investigations that did not take place before certification.”
Well, we may be misreading what the NYS BoE and the GCBoE are reading or what their fact-finding source is using, but looking at what Hornick actually said and comparing it to what the NYS BoE, the GCBoE, and Politifact are alleging NYAC is claiming, there’s quite a difference. Maybe NYS BoE co-executive directors and GCBoE commissioners, and the Politifact reporters should take a reading remedial class. What do you think?
What we found that really clobbered, smashed, and neutralized anything the NYS BoE or the GCBoE, or Politifact had to say is the fact that the Greene County District Attorney was sitting in the audience listening very closely to the GCBoE presentation and the DA, Mr Joseph Stanzione, not only complimented Hornick and NYCA for their work and efforts, but even contributed information on an actual Grand Jury investigation of real voter registration irregularities in Richmond County, NY (Staten Island), where the Grand Jury, after investigation, issued a 30-page report on their findings and actually made recommendations for improvements! Does it get better than that, people?!? The Greene County DA comes forward in support of the GCBoE with another county’s investigation supporting the suggestion that the system is broken.
Look, when you have a law enforcement professional, a DA, providing support for your case, and another DA and a Grand Jury comes up with an investigation supporting your case, while the New York State Board of Elections co-executive directors, and the Greene County Board of Elections commissioners call you liars, malicious, ill-informed, and dozens of other negatives, it kinda looks like the Board of Elections and their Internet source is not worth believing or trusting. We don’t want to say much more on that subject but to ask you whom you are going to believe? Will it be the name-callers who can’t come up with any believable answers or explanations or the investigating Grand Jury and the District Attorneys, professional law enforcement investigators.
We think we know your answer!
Rather than continue pointing out the misinformation and outright lies of the New York State Board of Elections and the Greene County Board of Elections, and the misinformation and spinning provided by their lackey so-called online fact-finder, Politifact, we are providing links to the actual documents we refer to. (See the links at the end of this article.) If you wish, you can read them for yourself. We’ve made out points so far, so there’s no need to belabor our facts.
The Greene County Legislature and the County Services Committee
Following the catastrophic failures of voting machines and the incompetent response of the Greene County Board of Elections to poll workers’ concerns and the problems experienced by voters at polling places in New Baltimore on November 7, 2024, concerned poll workers, citizens, and town officials called in the New York Citizens Audit to help them understand what the Board of Elections was unable or unwilling to do.
On December 6, 2023, shortly after the problems of November 7, New York Citizens Audit (NYCA) was invited to give a presentation on the voter rolls and irregularities in those rolls kept by the New York state and county boards of elections.
Spurred on by continuing interest and activity of constituents demanding answers, the New Baltimore representative in the Greene County Legislature and its current chairman, Mr Patrick “Pat” S Linger, met with legislators at the January 8, 2024, meeting of the County Services Committee of the Greene County Legislature, to discuss inviting the NYCA to give a presentation with a view of the Legislature drafting a resolution in favor of requesting the NYS BoE to edit their voter registration rolls.
We considered it important to follow this issue once we learned of the December NYCA presentation in New Baltimore, and Mr Linger’s positive response to the idea of a resolution and the benefits of an audit. New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeffrey Ruso greeted the idea positively and pushed the New Baltimore Town Board to draft and pass external Resolution 53-2024 of February 26, 2024, requesting an audit of state voter rolls by the NYS BoE. Very commendable first step!
In addition, the on February 22, 2024, the Town of New Baltimore passed Resolution 40-2024 requesting the Greene County Board of Elections commissioners Bogardus (Rep) and Metzler (Dem) to attend a Town Board meeting at their convenience in order to receive and respond to citizens’ questions and concerns.
Obviously, some local elected officials were taking the information provided by NYCA seriously enough to pass resolutions addressing the concerns.
Note: By passing their Resolution 53-2024, New Baltimore joined some 70+ other communities in New York state, counties and municipalities, who passed similar resolutions in response to NYCA’s pleas for support.
The Greene County Board of Elections ignored the Town of New Baltimore’s requests until, after several follow-ups with the GCBoE, the BoE refused to meet with citizens and voters and, instead, attempted to get out of a face-to-face by dispatching a two-page letter, pretty much following the example of finger-pointing and name-calling used by their pals at the NYS BoE. This raised an angry response at the public meeting at which the board’s letter was read out by Town Supervisor Ruso.
The discussions at the January 8, 2024 meeting of the Greene County Legislature County Services Committee were an embarrassment, to say the least.[14]
The legislators comments revealed a disgraceful indifference to possible problems in the voter registration rolls and unquestioning support for their appointees on the Board of Elections, even when faced with an absence of explanation or facts, and the board of elections commissioners’ Bogardus’ and Metler’s inability to address the actual questions. They merely referred to the letters from the NYS BoE we discussed above, as if they were worth any consideration at all.
But it was the legislator’s comments that were really disappointing because they had already decided that they didn’t want to hear anything about the problems and they had already decided — at the County Services Committee meeting of January 8, 2024, even before the NYCA presentation or even having a draft resolution — they were simply not interested in passing a resolution asking for an audit. We found that to be incredibly irresponsible and ignorant.
It was legislator Patrick S. Linger, chairman of the Greene County Legislature, who urged the legislators to consider inviting the NYCA to give a presentation with the aim of drafting a resolution. That said, we cannot understand why a proper resolution was not drafted, and merely a copy of the New Baltimore resolution was placed before legislators for consideration. What’s even more dictatorial is the fact that there was almost no real discussion and the resolution was voted down without considering amending it, tabling it for further consideration, or any action whatsoever. That really cheated Greene County voters.
We’ll just reproduce some of the discussion here and refer you to the actual minutes of the January 8 meeting, if you are interested in the entire discussion. You can find the link below.
Mr Linger opened the discussion by saying that the Board of Election had phoned him asking him to cancel the appearance of the NYCA group but continued by addressing the Greene County BoE commissioners directly,
“I think there may be some questions that you can answer … as far as Greene County is concerned. I think they’re [NYCA] looking for a New York statewide audit, but we’ll see what we can do to help … they’re petitioning the State Board of Elections to do a full audit of the voter registration rolls.”[15]
Legislator Bulich (R, Catskill) asks, rather stupidly, “Does it sound like a good idea to make sure the registration rolls are [updated]?”
Duh! Does it sound like a good idea to read the label before taking a swig out of the bottle?
It is at about this point that GCBoE commissioner Bogardus offers the legislators the infamous letters and attachments from the state BoE, stating,
“We have, we have some information from the State Board that we’ll be happy to share with the Legislature that speaks to some of the issues that this group has brought up in the past that haven’t necessarily been found to be accurate.”
The Q&A between the legislators and the GCBoE commissioners is discouraging at best because the legislators are clearly ignorant about how the BoE operates, and it is clear that the BoE commissioners have our elected public officers, our legislators by the short and curlies, and can tell them anything and the legislators believe it. Bad government; big trouble for citizens!
Bogardus comes right out and says, “Quite honestly we don’t want to get into a debate with this group.”[16] In other words, we’re not willing to hear what they have to say. This seems to be a regular approach by the BoE when anyone has a question or is looking for answers, and it has become the position of the Greene County legislators, it appears.
Legislators’ responses were not what we would have expected:
Legislator Bulich (Rep, Catskill) stated, “Yeah.”
Chairman Linger (Rep, New Baltimore) stated, “And, and I don’t either.”
Mr. Bogardus (GCBoE) stated, “We, we will (Legislator Lennon (Dem, Cairo), stated, “So let’s not entertain them so.”) certainly if there’s specific (Legislator Legg (Dem, Halcott, Hunter, Lexington) stated, “Why are we gonna entertain the group?”), if there are specific.”
***
Mr. Bogardus stated, “Again, I think once you see some of the State Board correspondence
in regard to some of the, the claims that have been made, you know.”[17]
Legislator Overbaugh (Rep, Catskill) stated, “Well we shouldn’t even bring them in.”
It seems that the two Democratic legislators Lennon and Legg have no problem swallowing the poop pill the BoE commissioners are feeding them:
Legislator Legg stated, “So as far as you could say (Legislator Luvera stated, “Yes, they do.”) it’s unfounded that we have this problem, right?”
Ms. Metzler stated, “Very unfounded.”
Legislator Legg stated, “Okay.”
Chairman Linger stated, “But they’re not looking at Greene County specifically they’re looking at Statewide. That’s, that’s what I’m saying.”
Legislator Legg stated, “I know, but if they’re not looking at (Legislator Bulich stated, “Statewide.”) Greene County why are we gonna listen to them?”
Legislator Lennon stated, “Yeah.”
Chairman Linger stated, “Because they’re looking.”
Legislator Legg stated, “We, we ought to not even entertain them.”[18]
And legislator Legg seems to think he’s too busy to listen to anything about messed up voter registrations, even though he voted to appoint the current elections commissioners, whose responsibility it is to keep voter registrations squeaky clean! According to legislator Legg:
Legislator Legg stated, “I mean we have a lot of things to do and we don’t have to listen to something that doesn’t pertain to our particular county.”
Chairman Linger stated, “So, so you don’t, you don’t, but you don’t think that a Presidential Election is worth making sure that voter rolls are correct.”
Legislator Legg stated, “Not if, not if I can sit here and listen to my people tell me that everything’s good. No, I have no problem.”[19]
And who in the Green County Legislature even gives a rat’s tail if we’re in a highly contested and difficult election year preceded by 4 years of elections scandals and law enforcement and the judicial system being weaponized to effect possible election interference, legislator Legg feels that if his appointees tell him everything is kosher, it’s good enough for him! But not for residents and voters in Greene County, Mr Legg!!!
Chairman Linger stated, “Okay, so if our rolls are correct?”
Ms. Metzler stated, “Our rolls are correct.”
Chairman Linger stated, “Then what is there to worry about?”
Legislator Legg stated, “I’m not worried about it, I’m just worried about wasting time.”
Legislator Bulich stated, “Yeah.”
Chairman Linger stated, “But I think it’s.”
Legislator Legg stated, “If our rolls are correct, what do we care?”
Chairman Linger stated, “Well I don’t think it’s a waste of time, I think it’s, it’s, the right thing is to also show people that we are doing the right thing and that our rolls are accurate. I think that’s just as important.”
So forget about democracy, our voting rights, and forget about the freedom to express our concerns. It’s business as usual and cronyism. No interest in facts and no interest in improving things or correcting mistakes and errors. The dumb clucks just take the foxes’ words as true, regardless of how stupid their statements are, and the attitude is ‘let’s not waste time learning anything.’
Our concluding talking point is that the majority of our Greene County legislators had already made their decision on January 8, 2024, well in advance of the NYCA presentation on February 12, and without any substantive discussion of the resolution on April 8, 2024, and voted to defeat the so-called resolution. Let’s look at what our legislators had to say:
Chairman Linger stated, “I said we’ll look at it next month. They’re coming in, they’re gonna do a presentation next month and I think they’re gonna ask for a Resolution from us. (Legislator Lennon stated, “No.”). It doesn’t mean we have to provide anything, so.”
Legislator Lennon stated, “I don’t think we’re supporting a Resolution.”
Chairman Linger stated, “But I, I think it’s just as important to prove them wrong.”
Chairperson Bloomer stated, “I think if you don’t let them in, you’re running a risk of they’ll say you’re trying to hide something, and we’re not.”
Chairman Linger stated, “Absolutely, I.”
Legislator Bulich stated, “Good time for them, for our Election Committee here to (Legislator Handel stated, “To shine.”) inform them properly.”
Legislator Lennon stated, “Okay, that’s probably what’s gonna happen here.”
So, on January 8, 2024, the County Services Committee of the Greene County Legislature already decided they weren’t going to pass a resolution to audit voter registration rolls, even before they heard what NYCA had to say, even before gathering any facts. Do you really think that’s the way Greene County government should be run?
As mentioned above, the NYCA did in fact present their findings in the data provided by the NYS BoE, more precisely they presented and explained questions they had about the data provided by the NYS BoE for voter registrations, and they received applause from the public, and, again as stated above, they received confirmation and support from the Greene County District Attorney.
Nevertheless, on April 8, 2024, a resolution with the title “Resolution to Request New York State Board of Elections to take the following Actions to Assure Domestic Tranquility through Provisions of Fair and Honest Elections” was read and came before the County Services Committee. Without specific discussion, without suggesting amendment, without tabling the resolution for study and discussion, the Committee voted to defeat the resolution and it died in the County Services Committee.
Legislators were more concerned about wasting their time than about the very process that put them where they’re sitting. They were more concerned about how much they had to do and were worried about hearing from an organization concerned about our democratic process. Isn’t that why we have legislators? Aren’t they there to represent us in this sort of thing? The Greene County Legislature, the elected legislators, and their appointees have shortchanged Greene County. It’s got to be payback time in November!
We have reported on all of these issues in other articles. If you haven’t seen them, please use the links below.
Links to Documents Cited in this Article
Notes:
[1] GCL CSC 8Jan24 Minutes at pp. 24, 26, 29
[2] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 12
[3] Unless otherwise noted, the following quotations are taken directly from the official minutes of the Greene County Legislature County Services Committee Meeting of February 12, 2024.
[4] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 2
[5] NYS BoE letters to New York State sheriffs, DAs, and counties associations, dated November 28, 2023, and letter to County Board of Elections Commissioners, directors, and staff.
[6] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 2
[7] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 3
[8] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 4
[9] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 5
[10] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 7
[11] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 8
[12] Deadwood is defined by the DOJ as “placing fictitious names on the voter rolls. This “deadwood” allows for fraudulent ballots, which can be used to stuff the ballot box” and “risks overloading voter rolls with “deadwood” names, which in turn undermines public confidence in the election process.” Donsanto, Craig C., Nancy L. Simmons, and United States Department of Justice Public Integrity Section. 2007. Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses. 7th ed., rev. Aug. 2007. [Washington, D.C.]: [U.S. Dept. of Justice], Public Integrity Section, at p. 28, 43. https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/LPS92922.
[13] GCL CSC 12Feb24 Minutes at p. 9
[14] The quotations included in this section are taken from the official published minutes of the County Services Committee of the Greene County Legislature of January 8, 2023 (GCL CSC 8Jan24) , starting at page 23 up to and including page 30. The discussion is not included in the video published on the Legislature website and is available only in the minutes.
[15] GCL CSC 8Jan24 at p 23
[16] GCL CSC 8Jan24 at p 25
[17] GCL CSC 8Jan24 at p 26
[18] GCL CSC 8Jan24 at p 27
[19] GCL CSC 8Jan24 at p 27