How Long Island polls are being watched as national fraud and intimidation warnings swirl

Long Island party leaders are expressing confidence in New York's bipartisan election system as President Donald Trump ramps up warnings about alleged voter fraud and Democrats say they’re watching for voter intimidation at the polls.

With early voting underway and Election Day on Tuesday, parties and local voters’ rights groups say they have hundreds of trained poll watchers spread throughout Long Island polling sites to flag potential problems and ensure voters feel secure.

So far, Nassau County Board of Elections officials have fielded complaints about the presence of police near voting locations in minority neighborhoods, while Suffolk officials say there have been no significant issues so far.

Longtime election observers say complaints are typical in most election cycles and underscore the importance of having poll watchers present, but atypical for this year is Trump’s push to beef up the federal government’s presence in state-run elections.

"We're prepared for just about any eventuality," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan civic group that has trained more than 700 poll observers throughout the state.

Parties and civic organizations have historically deployed armies of volunteer poll watchers to make sure election laws and protocols are being followed at polling sites. This year, they are doing so against the backdrop of the Trump administration saying it will dispatch 1,000 federal agents to monitor election sites throughout the country, and as the Department of Homeland Security has stepped up efforts to investigate noncitizens accused of voting illegally in prior elections. Trump has also pledged to donate $1 million to any voter fraud tips that lead to a criminal conviction and has said he’ll only accept the election results "if it’s an honest election."

While voter fraud remains a rarity in the United States, according to multiple studies, local voting rights groups and party leaders say they have been working to flag any potential issues that crop up at sites.

State Attorney General Letitia James’ office told Newsday since the start of early voting last Saturday, the office has received 12 complaints from Nassau County and 19 complaints from Suffolk County, but could not disclose the nature of the complaints.

Police near Nassau sites

In Nassau, over the first four days of early voting, poll watchers and election workers observed three different instances of what they described as an unusual county police presence at voting sites in Uniondale, Port Washington and Oyster Bay, according to James Scheuerman, Nassau Democratic Board of Elections commissioner.

"They are showing up, they are parked outside in some instances — in some instances they are coming inside — it’s very weird that this is happening this year," Scheuerman told Newsday on Thursday. "Police involvement has always been, and should be, to show up when called whether by the Board of Elections or God forbid because of an emergency at the site."

Scheuerman said no formal complaint has been filed with the state Attorney General’s Office but that he has had a conversation with Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, who has been receptive to his concerns.

Ryder, in a phone interview with Newsday, said he has been working with election officials to ensure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents are not near sites, but said like in other elections, the department has fielded calls about election issues and sent officers to respond.

"People call us during elections because people violate the election law," Ryder said. "We have what is called intensified patrol. We ride by the locations and if there’s an issue we’ll stop and address the issue, if not we move on, but might stay in the area."

He said he has complied with Scheuerman by directing patrols away from polling places unless called.

"We are not interfering with anybody’s right to vote," Ryder said Thursday. "We are not getting involved, we are not stopping anybody, but sometimes police officers take up positions for observational purposes."

New York Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, who also leads the Nassau Democratic Committee, said while Democrats have been in contact with Ryder about police presence, the party is also prepared to tackle other concerns as part of a statewide "voter protection program." Jacobs said the party has about 100 attorneys prepared to respond to Election Day complaints and some two dozen volunteers in Nassau monitoring different sites.

"Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or unaffiliated, we are going to apply the law to ensure that your vote can be cast," Jacobs said in a phone interview.

Nassau GOP Chairman Joe Cairo told Newsday the county party also has about 100 volunteer attorneys positioned at different voting sites to respond to complaints. So far, he said, "it's been relatively smooth and calm since opening day."

Suffolk’s Board of Elections, which like other New York counties is jointly governed by a Democratic and Republican commissioner, said in a statement to Newsday that so far, "there have been no significant reports of voting issues" at early voting sites.

Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia said the party has about 1,000 volunteer poll watchers signed up between all of the town parties.

"We will take steps to alert any issues but I have full confidence in the bipartisan professionalism and security operations of the Suffolk County Board of Elections," Garcia said.

State NAACP president L. Joy Williams said the civil rights group has trained volunteers stationed at key sites throughout Nassau and Suffolk.

"Heading into Election Day, voters should not be fearful," Williams said in an email to Newsday. "Our elections are secure and widespread voter fraud is a myth weaponized to justify voter suppression. ... The law is on the voter's side, our observers are at the polls, and we urge every eligible New Yorker to exercise their hard-earned right to vote."

Asked about concerns raised by some poll watchers about the potential federal presence at polling sites, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis, in an email to Newsday, said: "The evidence of voter fraud continues to pile up. Anyone who illegally votes in our elections will be held accountable."

Bis pointed to recent arrests made by federal authorities of noncitizens registering to vote including the arrest last week of three New York City immigrants with permanent residency status who voted in prior elections despite not having their U.S. citizenship.

Jeffrey Wice, an election law professor at New York Law School, said most of those noncitizens prosecuted were longtime permanent residents who were unaware of the citizenship requirements. Wice, who has volunteered as a poll watcher in Nassau in the past, said "we really don't see levels of voter fraud or noncitizens attempting to vote in New York to any large degree." 

"New York, of course, does rely on the pollbook signature as verification," Wice said in a phone interview. "Also, when you vote, usually, many poll sites have the same poll workers at the same sites year after year, and people know each other, and neighbors know each other, and if you had somebody trying to infiltrate the vote as noncitizen at an election district poll site, other neighbors are likely to know that that person doesn't belong."

Newsday's Keshia Clukey contributed to this story from Albany.