Candidate demands independent investigation after name left off primary ballots

Posted By: finleys
June 25, 2020 @ 9:29 am
Rochester

Rochester (WHAM) – State Senate candidate Hilda Rosario-Escher says she heard from dozens of people on Tuesday who said they couldn’t vote for her.

“The telephone kept ringing off the wall because voters were calling and saying, ‘Your name is not on the ballot. What happened?'” she recalled.

“It’s very frustrating. Why is this happening?” she added. “A lot of things come through your mind. To say this is a small error, I don’t think so. I don’t view this as a small error.”

The Monroe County Board of Elections said on Wednesday that it was overwhelmed by changes made to polling places due to the pandemic, as well as the number of elections happening at once.

The BOE says it has about 77,000 absentee ballots it will begin counting on July 1, an increase of about 72,000 compared to the 2016 presidential and local primary races.

Despite the challenges, Rosario-Escher’s attorney is calling for an investigation.

“When they showed up, the candidate they wanted to vote was not on the ballot. That is illegal. The Board of Elections did not do their job,” said attorney Carlos Rodriguez.

Rodriguez says anyone who could not vote for Rosario-Escher is asked to reach out to her office so they can fill out an affidavit.

There were other reported issues reported at polling sites Tuesday, including people getting the wrong ballots.

Roberto Burgos is a translator who helps voters at the polls. He says he was translating for a man at one site on Tuesday, when the man was told he’d already filled out an absentee ballot and mailed it in.

“He looked at me and told me, ‘I have not voted, I have not submitted an absentee ballot. What do I do?'” said Burgos.

Burgos says the man was able to fill out a new ballot, and was told the candidates he voted for would count over the absentee ballot already registered.

“If he would’ve not asserted himself, whatever that absentee ballot indicated would’ve reflected that was his choice,” said Burgos, “when, in fact, that ballot may have voted for candidates he was not supporting, and that’s a real issue.”

— 13 WHAM