Charter voting records sought
Former panel chairman resubmits FOIL request following court’s ruling
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » A Freedom of Information Law request has been resubmitted to the Saratoga County Board of Election for digital records from November’s charter referendum in Saratoga Springs.
Former chairman of the defunct Charter Review Commission, Bob Turner, submitted the request for all unscanned ballots, the ballots that weren’t counted and the reasons why, all TIF files from voting machines on a DVD, ballots ruled invalid by the County Board of Elections Commissioners and all absentee ballots and votes cast at the County Board of Elections.
“The margin in the Saratoga Springs charter referendum was 10 votes out of 8,906,” Turner said Tuesday. “I have always believed that ballots are public property. They should be a matter of public record. The charter referendum may win or lose, but transparency should always win.”
Turner said Tuesday the Board of Elections had denied his request, indicating only a judge’s order could make them release the ballots.
However, Turner resubmitted his request following a State Supreme Court ruling earlier this month. The state Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, determined in the case of Kosmider v. Whitney in Essex County by a 3-2 vote that, “once electronic ballot images have been preserved in accordance with the procedures set forth in Election Law § 3-222, there
is no statutory impediment to disclosure and they may be obtained through a FOIL request.”
In November, a vote to change the form of government in Saratoga Springs failed by 10 votes — 4,458 to 4,448 — which prompted the former Charter Review Commission treasurer Gordon Boyd to ask for a recount.
Previously, Boyd said “that a review of all ballots and scanner machine records is imperative to assure that the voters can have confidence in the final count.”
In February 2018, Supreme Court Justice Thomas Nolan dismissed the petition, ruling that “the petitioner presents no facts to support or justify his request.”
In the decision, Nolan stated that neither New York state or the Saratoga County Board of Elections recount votes due to a close election.
At the time, Boyd said he was waiting for the decision from the Kosmider vs. Whitney case before deciding the next step. which led to Turner re-submitting the FOIL request Monday afternoon.
Last month, Mayor Meg Kelly established her own commission to make recommendations to revise the city’s existing charter, the goal of which is to find efficiencies and organizational improvements within the current commission form of government to better serve the people of Saratoga Springs.
The previous Charter Review Commission proposed a charter under the council-manager form of government, which would include a seven-member council that solely acts in a legislative capacity, and an appointed city manager who would run the day-to-day operations of city hall. The commission form of government has an elected mayor and four elected commissioners who serve as members of the city council and supervisors of specific departments.
The 10-member commission consists of city hall employees and elected officials. City attorney Vince DeLeonardis serves as chair.
The next meeting for the commission will be Wednesday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m.