Council candidate's intern was registered to vote in two states
By Melissa Klein
September 9, 2017 | 11:01pm
Rebecca Chant Facebook
A college intern working for a New York City Council candidate this summer got a lesson in hardball politics and may have run afoul of election law in the process.
Rebecca Chant, who goes to school in Ohio, where she is registered to vote, also registered to vote in The Bronx in order to help her boss enter and win the Sept. 12 primary, documents and court records show.
The registration both allowed Chant to circulate petitions to get Democrat Marjorie Velazquez on the ballot and — at the campaign's behest — to also file objections with the Board of Elections that ended up knocking two of Velazquez's opponents out of the race.
That left Velazquez as one of four candidates and the only Hispanic left in a hotly contested race to fill the seat being vacated by term-limited Councilman James Vacca. Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj is also seeking the Democratic nomination. The district covers City Island, Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and Morris Park in the Bronx.
In order to legally register in New York, a voter must intend to remain at the address indefinitely, according to Marty Connor, a former state senator and election-law attorney. While Chant lived in The Bronx for the summer, her lease was up on Aug. 31 so she could return to Oberlin College, court papers show.
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"It doesn't sound like there was intention to remain there permanently or to make that home," Connor said.
For Chant's action to rise to a level of a crime, the intern would have had to intended to flout the law.
"Maybe somebody gave the kid bad advice," Connor said.
Victor Ortiz, who was ousted from the ballot when Chant challenged his nominating petitions, called Velazquez's actions an "abuse of power."
Ortiz petitioned the Board of Elections to be reinstated and grilled Chant about her residency during an Aug. 14 hearing.
Chant said she had no intention of voting in the Sept. 12 primary or general election in New York and registered simply in order to circulate petitions for Velazquez, according to court papers.
Asked how she came to file objections, she said, "I mean, like they asked me to do it, but it was part of the experience to learn how an election works."
But election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder, who is representing Velazquez, told The Post that that Chant was legitimately registered.
"It's perfectly appropriate to register from a place as long as you're actually living there. You don't have to commit to living there for the rest of your life," he said.
Chant dropped her objections to Ortiz's petitions and there was no finding of wrongdoing against her. Chant did not return a request for comment."As this lawsuit has been settled with no fault levied against the campaign, this is a non-issue and we are focusing our energies on the primary in the final days of the race," said Jon Greenfield, a spokesman for the Velazquez campaign.
Ortiz was reinstated to the ballot. Alex Gomez, who was also thrown off the ballot, will run on an independent line in the November election.
Filed under campaigns , city council , elections , internships , ohio , the bronx , voter fraud , voting , 9/9/17
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