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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On the eve of New York’s Primary Election Day, there is controversy brewing over an alleged incident in Monroe County that is raising questions about the rules surrounding electioneering.
“This, to me, [is] unbelievable and should not be tolerated,” said Monroe County Legislator Mercedes Vasquez Simmons.
A Monroe County legislator running for reelection is fired up about what she says are the actions of another legislator also running for reelection.
“So, I hired poll watchers. And these are individuals that went through training about what to expect during a normal transaction of a voter coming in [and] what that experience looks like. And anything that deviates from that should be reported,” said Vazquez Simmons.
Vazquez Simmons says her poll worker reported that legislator and candidate Rose Bonnick was at a polling place on the last day of early voting. She says Bonnick entered the polling booth with voters several times.
“She knows very well that she’s not supposed to be in that parameter, but she used her authority, her position in government, and her relationships in government, to violate the same oath that she took to protect, which is democracy,” said Vazquez Simmons. “She took it and went into the poll and [had] complete disregard over the rules and regulations and voter rights.”
Bonnick issued a statement regarding the allegations, saying in part, “Each year, I answer the call from my Jamaican community members as a trusted community servant, helping overcome language barriers when engaging with the election process… I want to thank the pleasant and helpful bipartisan Board of Elections staff who once again kindly and clearly administered the process, ensuring it was conducted transparently and in accordance with election law.”
The Monroe County Board of Elections did not issue a statement about this specific issue, but Republican Monroe County BOE Commissioner Peter Elder did explain what electioneering is.
“Communicating with another person on an election day within 100 feet of a polling site, or with the purpose of influencing their vote on a candidate, party or ballot initiative that’s actually currently on the ballot,” said Elder.
Elder adds that poll workers are trained to watch for electioneering.
“There’s a specific portion of the training where they look to see where we train them on exactly what those particular elements are, particularly on the idea that it has to be a candidate that’s currently on the ballot or a proposition that’s currently on the ballot,” he said.
So, influencing a voter at a polling place is not allowed, according to the BOE. Vasquez Simmons is seeking answers and is taking action to get those answers.
Both women are Democrats and are not running directly against each other.
“So, systems, the process was broken somewhere along the line,” said Vazquez Simmons. “We need to retrain. And in some cases, maybe we need to remove some people if they’re not willing to uphold what’s required to run a poll site, they don’t need to be there.”
The New York state Attorney General’s Office confirms it did receive the complaint and is reviewing it.
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