Illegality doesn’t change Island Park election

At the Island Park Board of Education meeting June 30, Richard Schurin, who lost the district's school board election on May 18 to Richie Hayes by just 10 votes, presented the board with what Schurin described as evidence that parts of the election were handled improperly and, in some cases, illegally.

Encouraged by some of his supporters after his narrow defeat, Schurin filed Freedom of Information requests with the district for documents related to the election — specifically, the absentee ballots.

"On at least four of the absentee ballots, my name was actually physically crossed out on the ballot," Schurin told the board. "My opponent's name was not crossed out on any ballot. In each case where my name was crossed out, the cross-out appears in blue ink and looks to be the same — as if the same person crossed out my name."

Schurin's claims caused a split in the large group of people who attended the meeting — some who were concerned by what he found and others who felt that he didn't have a case — as well among members of the board, between those who felt they should or should not respond.

The problem with determining what really happened with the absentee ballots, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rosmarie Bovino explained, is that once they are picked up at the school office or mailed out to those who requested them, the district has no control over what is done to them.

One of the concerns raised by Schurin was that three absentee ballots were picked up from the district office on the day of the election, which is illegal.

According to the absentee ballot application, for ballots to be mailed, the application must be received at least a week before the election. If the ballot is to be delivered, the application must be received no later than the day before the election. Yet the board acknowledged that three ballot applications — all for members of the same family — were received and approved on May 18, the day of the election.