State reviewing South Blooming Grove election records — but key information still missing
State officials are reviewing documents from South Blooming Grove’s October election and say several key records are still missing.
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State officials are reviewing documents from South Blooming Grove’s October election and say several key records are still missing.
Sen. James Skoufis tells News 12 his Senate Investigations Committee received petitions, legal notices and photos from the village, but not enough to show that residents were properly notified about the vote or how it was conducted.
“We did receive a trove of documents,” Skoufis said. “We’ve been reviewing them, but there are some questions and documents that they did not respond to.”
Skoufis says the missing materials include proof of how the village communicated the election to residents, such as emails, mailed notices, text alerts or social media posts, and any documentation explaining why the election date was moved from March to October.
According to records obtained by News 12 through a Freedom of Information request, the village held a referendum in June to move its elections. The vote passed 61 to 10, with fewer than 4% of registered voters participating. https://hudsonvalley.news12.com/almost-no-one-knew-state-investigating-special-south-blooming-grove-election
He also says one required legal notice was published in the Wallkill Valley Times, a small newspaper that is circulated several communities away from South Blooming Grove.
Skoufis told News 12 South Blooming Grove is the only village in New York state that doesn’t hold its elections in either March or November and calls the change to October “highly unusual.”
South Blooming Grove has been one of the fastest-growing communities in Orange County, with a large influx of Hasidic Jewish families and growing tensions over local control and development under the current administration.
Incumbent Mayor George Kalaj and Trustees Abraham Weiss and Yitzchok Feldman were quietly re-elected on Oct. 22. The Orange County Board of Elections says about 130 people voted out of roughly 1,800 registered.
When News 12 went to the village, one resident, Robert Kelley, a U.S. veteran, said he had no idea the election was taking place. “I didn’t know about it,” Kelley said. “I would’ve voted. I usually do.”
Another resident said she voted and that “everyone knew about it.” When told that only about 130 people cast ballots, she closed the door in our reporter’s face.
Resident Kelly Parzer reached out after hearing about the investigation. “I absolutely would have voted if I was afforded the opportunity,” Parzer said. “I was never contacted, read or heard at any town board meetings about a potential election. I was under the impression that elections would be in March. This year wouldn't have been different except for the fact they held a secret election.”
Skoufis says the Senate Investigations Committee has given the village more time to turn over the remaining records. The village attorney declined to comment.
The New York Attorney General’s Office confirms it’s also reviewing the matter.
