Judge hears lawsuit that seeks to remove candidate from tight 17th Congressional District race

Democratic leaders in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties claim Frascone is using bad faith practices to illegitimately influence the outcome of the election by syphoning votes away from Jones in what is expected to be a very close race against Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

Jonathan Gordon

Oct 7, 2024, 4:38 PM

Updated 25 days ago

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Ballots in one of the country's most closely watched congressional races could soon be amended with less than a month before Election Day, depending on how a New York state Supreme Court judge rules on a new lawsuit.
Attorneys representing six voters who live in New York's 17th congressional district are asking the judge to force the Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess county boards of elections or the state Board of Elections to remove Congers resident Anthony Frascone's name from the ballot.
Frascone has run a completely anonymous campaign after defeating Democrat Mondaire Jones in the Working Families Party primary race in June.
Democratic candidates' names have largely used the Working Families Party line to amass additional support while the party pushes candidates for more progressive policies if elected into office.
But in this case, attorneys argue Republicans seized on the turmoil between Jones and the Working Families party over the summer when Jones backed Democrat George Latimer over progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman in their heated primary for New York's 16th Congressional District.
The lawsuit alleges that Frascone is solely on the line to draw support away from Jones' campaign to help Republican Rep. Mike Lawler win in November.
"The candidate...engaged in subversive practices in bad faith as an attempt to illegitimately influence the outcome of the general election," the lawsuit read in part.
"Voters deserve the right to show up and vote for candidates and not have others try and influence that vote in any way," Keith Corbett, the attorney representing the six in-district voters said.
Frascone, whose lack of a presence on the campaign trail is at the center of this lawsuit, was absent from court on Monday. He did not have an attorney representing him and none was listed online.
Other attorneys representing Republican members of different county and state boards of elections said there was no basis to remove Frascone from the ballot and that the challenge long exceeded the statute of limitations.
"They're just trying to come up with a second crack at the apple," said William McCann, Jr., an attorney for a pair of New York Republican elections commissioners.
A decision by the judge cannot wait much longer.
New York began mailing out absentee ballots two weeks ago and early voting across the state is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Oct. 26.
One attorney representing Westchester's Democratic election commissioner said it would take less than a week to fix and mail out amended ballots.
More than 1,500 voters are registered to the Working Families Party in the 17th Congressional District, according to the state Board of Elections.
Lawler, who is seeking his second term in Congress, defeated then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat, by just 1,800 votes two years ago.
This district is largely considered a swing seat that could ultimately help determine which political party controls Congress next term.
An internal poll for Jones' campaign last month found him making up ground against Lawler. The data showed Jones trailing by three points in a three-way race and just two points head-to-head. Jones trailed by as much as seven points over the summer.
The judge scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit for Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 9:30 a.m.