By Stephen J. Bronner
Voters who supported the candidacies of Barry Ringelheim and John Kinder have claimed that the May 19 District 15 election was poorly managed and that there should be another vote. But Lawrence District Clerk Mohinder Bharaj brushed aside these claims, saying that everything was done correctly.
Ringelheim and Kinder filed a letter with Bharaj, contesting the results. They requested that all voting machines and paper rolls be impounded for review by an independent party. �Many of the voters in the community did not receive the proper opportunity to exercise their right to vote as a result of the numerous snafus,� a letter written by Ringelheim read. �I would personally call the equipment used in the voting system antiquated, and in all polling locations in Lawrence many of the machines were out of order for several hours.�
Bharaj dismissed any claims that the election was not handled properly. �Every person had an opportunity to exercise their right to vote,� she said. �I do know that machines went down and ran out of paper, but it happens. They�re not my machines, they�re the Board of Elections�.�
Official results show the final tally for winners Uri Kaufman and Abel Feldhamer at 3,559 and 3,613 votes, respectively. Ringelheim trailed Kaufman by 179 votes, garnering 3,380. Write-in candidate John Kinder received 2,373 votes.
Nicole DiIorio, who ran polls at the Number 2 School, said that some voters were badgered by campaigners while they waited to vote, voting machines malfunctioned due to decade-old paper and long waits caused many potential voters to walk out.
�If this election was run properly, we would have different numbers,� said DiIorio, who supported Ringelheim and Kinder. �We have a public-school board that doesn't have parents with kids in public school.�
Kathleen Kane of Atlantic Beach said workers at her polling station seemed bewildered. �I think, in all fairness to all the candidates, everyone should be put on the ballot and be able to pull the lever as they're used to doing,� said Kane, who supported the challengers. �I'm not saying to rerun the election for the candidates that lost. Put everyone on the ballot and do it the right way.�
But Kaufman said there is no reason to redo the election. �You get these things in every election,� he said. �I'm hearing this for the first time and I'm not sure how it could be warranted. There's no legal mechanism for redoing an election.�
Bharaj said she stands by the results. �People are pointing fingers, and there were lines, but everybody had to wait,� she said. �I know I did everything to the best of my ability, and I think I did a good job.�
Dr. Eric Feintuch, a Five Towns resident who said he would like to see a fair board for the community, is concerned that there is a growing gap between the Orthodox population and public-school parents. �What I'm seeing is a polarization of the community that is getting dangerous,� Feintuch said. �There's so much animosity going on on both sides.� He added that he didn't see problems with the election, but heard the complaints of others. �I think an election should be clean enough so people can move on with their lives,� he said.
Comments about this story? SBronner@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
