Monroe poll watcher says banquet hall site was ‘compromised’ on Election Day
A Democratic poll watcher in Monroe is raising concerns about what he says were multiple problems at the site he worked on this past Election Day.
A Democratic poll watcher in Monroe is raising concerns about what he says were multiple problems at the site he worked on this past Election Day.
The man spoke to News 12 under the condition of anonymity and says he was assigned to Aishes Chayil Banquet Hall on Chevron Road.
“This was my first year being a poll watcher. I thought I’d do my civic duty. What shocked me [is] – I actually saw the entire polling district being compromised,” says the poll watcher.
He says he saw a masked man electioneering less than 100 feet from the polling site and handing out sample ballots that he claims appeared to be intentionally left in polling booths. He provided photos of the person, as well as the Anash United Citizens of Kiryas Joel sample ballot that appears to suggest residents vote for Donald Trump for president, nine democrats in state and federal elections and a Republican family court judge.
The poll watcher says he also saw people telling voters who to vote for while they were filling out their ballots in booths.
“You had people leaning over into other people’s faces, telling them what to do. It was really strange,” says the poll worker.
The man says he reported his concerns through a poll watcher database and later reached out to the Orange County Board of Elections but never got a response.
“What measures can we put in place so that this doesn’t happen again in 2026? There’s no way this happened only in our little area. It should be investigated."
News 12 reached out to both Orange County Board of Election commissioners who say none of their election workers reported these problems on Election Day, and that inspectors routinely “police” booths and polling sites to remove sample ballots and ensure election laws are followed.
