POUGHKEEPSIE – The League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region (LOWV) and two individuals have filed a lawsuit against the Dutchess County Board of Elections and Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight.
The lawsuit seeks to have GOP Commissioner Haight agree with his Democratic counterpart, Commissioner Hannah Black, to establish a polling place on the campus of Vassar College in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
Joining the LOWV in suing Haight are two voters who reside on the Vassar campus and are impacted by what they say is a “clear violation” of state law. Plaintiff Taneisha Means is a professor at the college and a registered voter in Dutchess County through her campus address and lives on the campus with her family. Vassar student and plaintiff Magdalena Sharff is a registered voter in Dutchess County using her campus address.
New York State Elections Law says in part, “Whenever a contiguous property of a college or university contains 300 or more registrants who are registered to vote at any address on such contiguous property, the polling place designated for such registrants shall be on such contiguous property or at a nearby location recommended by the college or university and agreed to by the board of elections.” Vassar College has approximately 2,500 students, with more than 1,000 residing on campus.
In April, as reported by Mid-Hudson News, Commissioner Haight said the law requiring a polling place on campus will disenfranchise other voters and implied there are pitfalls to the law.
Haight, according to Dutchess County records, has cost taxpayers more than $120,000 in legal fees after he was repeatedly sued for voting issues at Bard College in northern Dutchess County. Haight lost those cases.
Earlier this month, a Vassar student wrote to Haight and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, along with Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver seeking to locate the polling site on the Vassar campus. Molinaro and Pulver did not respond. Haight responded to Mid-Hudson News, saying, “As Election Commissioners, we must make decisions that balance the needs of all voters, not just a select few.” Haight did not pass on the opportunity to take a shot at the college groups seeking new polling places, saying, “I’m supporting the path that enfranchises all voters not only the college students.”
Dare Thompson, president of the League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region, said, “In this deeply disturbing and dangerously polarized time, voters expect their boards of elections to be a bulwark against selfish partisan games. We are beyond disappointed to see Dutchess County’s BOE not only violate the spirit of our voting laws but brazenly violate the law itself. Every one of us must demand better.”
The case will be heard in Dutchess County Supreme Court before Judge Christie D’Alessio. The date has not been announced.
