Rensselaer County workers testify they felt coerced to sign ballots
ALBANY — Three current and former employees of Rensselaer County testified in U.S. District Court Thursday that county officials directed them to sign absentee ballot paperwork three years ago — and that they complied out of fear they may face retaliation if the declined to do so.
Their testimony came during an ongoing criminal trial of alleged ballot fraud in Rensselaer County during the 2021 elections. The defendants are Richard W. Crist, a longtime political operative and the county’s director of operations; James R. Gordon, director of the county’s Bureau of Central Services; and Leslie A. Wallace, a longtime political consultant and “assistant for constituent relations” in County Executive Steve McLaughlin’s office.
The three officials stand accused of conspiring to file dozens of fraudulent absentee ballots, including many that were submitted on behalf of county workers. Thursday’s witnesses included Andrew Pelton, who works in the county’s information technology department; Vincent Poleto, who formerly coordinated the county’s senior meal delivery program, and Floyd Hathaway, who prepares and delivers meals in that program. All three said they signed election paperwork at the behest of Crist or Gordon, and that they were afraid to lose their jobs if they did not.
Between the three of them, the witnesses were asked to sign a range of documents, including party enrollment forms, absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot envelopes. Some of the documents were signed in the county office’s executive suite, while others were brought to employees’ desks, sometimes with a sheet of paper covering everything but the signature line. Hathaway also procured signatures from his brother and niece when Crist repeatedly asked him to find more potential voters.
https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/rensselaer-county-employees-testify-ballot-fraud-19760784.php
= new reply since forum marked as read
