After some ten days with ballots under lock and key, State Supreme Court Justice Margaret Garvey ruled Tuesday that special Town of Ramapo ward results be invalidated, throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

The Town of Ramapo Board voted unanimously Wednesday, October 8, to appeal a court ruling that invalidated ballots in the special town wide ward and council vote held September 30 — LoHud

State Supreme Court Justice Margaret Garvey on Tuesday invalidated Ramapo’s referendums and ordered a do-over of the special election.

LoHud reporter Steve Lieberman broke the news late Tuesday afternoon that stated Justice Garvey ordered an election do-over. Citing absentee ballot errors by Town of Ramapo Clerk Christian Sampson “so egregious and fundamental to the special town election process that it cannot be rectified,” Judge Garvey ruled that “law requires that absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on the date of the election to be canvassed.

According to the Judge Garvey’s ruling, the confusion over absentee ballots and who was eligible to vote in the election created an election atmosphere of confusion sufficient enough to warrant a do-over. The Town of Ramapo announced before the September 30 election that any Ramapo resident 18 and over could vote in the special election, whether registered to vote or not.

Town of Ramapo Appeals Decision

Judge Garvey ruled that all current ballots be preserved pending possible appellate court review. On Wednesday, the Town of Ramapo Board voted unanimously to appeal Garvey’s decision. Councilman Daniel Friedman was the only council member to date to make a statement on the town’s decision to appeal the ruling.

“I voted along with the Ramapo Town Board to appeal the decision to throw out the results of the referendum,” Friedman wrote in a statement on his Facebook page.

“This isn’t about whether or not you believe it should have passed- it’s about counting the vote of every person- both those who wanted it to pass and those who did not,” wrote Friedman. “To throw out the votes of 20,000 people who wanted to make their voice heard without holding a single argument in court on the issue is to disenfranchise every person who took the time to vote.”

“There were never any arguments heard, and I just think such a weighty decision should not have been made without arguments, said Friedman in a comment after his statement. “What I want is for an election to be held that follows the law and is clear to all,” he said.

Garvey wrote in Tuesday’s ruling: In order to avoid further costly litigation, and further attacks on the integrity of the election, it is imperative that the process leading up to the new special town election, including the information disseminated to the general public and the procedures surrounding the actual election (training of election inspectors, availability and procedure for obtaining absentee ballots, availability and procedure for obtaining affidavit ballots, canvassing of absentee ballots and affidavit ballots) be as open and public as possible.

Garvey focused her ruling on the absentee ballots and eligible voter issues, stating that “irregularities presented by these two specific issues permeate the entire special town election, from the applications to receive absentee ballots, to the information disseminated to the general public regarding who could vote on the propositions, and no Order of this Court regarding procedures for counting, or even Court supervision of counting, can rectify the issues. that  were sufficient to re-run the election.”

Justice Garvey did not give a set time for a new vote on the issues — presumably the decision would be left up to the Town of Ramapo Board to act on. The judge also recommended in her ruling that the town consider poll watchers during the next vote. Although not mandated by Town Law, Justice Garvey wrote that poll watches might be in the best interest of both advocates and opponents of the referendums.

Dark Horse Big No Ward Money

Earlier Tuesday, LoHud reported on the veracity of a  rumor that big money was gathering for a No Ward push leading up to the Town of Ramapo ward and council member Special Election.

Steve Lieberman wrote that a group called 62isEnough raised nearly $130,000 days before the election to pay for No Ward literature and media. Ramapo Democratic Party Chairwoman Mona Montal, who also serves as the Town of Ramapo Purchaser, was involved in the No Ward fundraising effort. Lieberman reported that Montel sent out a fundraising letter to a select mailing list, requesting donations of $5000, $10,000 and $20,000 to help defeat the referendum measures.

As reported, the No Ward fundraising target audience was mostly developers and consultants who might be supportive of a no vote on the issues.

Montel was quoted as saying that the email was sent on her personal time and that she doesn’t believe a ward system will solve any of Ramapo’s problems.

This article has been updated.