Hempstead school officials are asking the state to toss out a May school board election, filing a detailed appeal that accuses the district clerk of smuggling, shredding and dumping absentee ballots. The May 19 trustee race was decided by a razor-thin margin, and the fallout has trustees, parents and voters demanding answers while the district hits pause and hands the fight to Albany.
Board’s 51‑Page Appeal Paints A Ballot‑Tampering Bombshell
In a 51‑page petition filed with the New York State Education Department, district attorneys allege that District Clerk April Keys slipped official absentee ballots out of her office, passed ballots to a candidate, and tore up or discarded votes, according to the New York Post. The filing zeroes in on one key number: board candidate Victor Pratt won his trustee seat by 81 votes.
The petition notes that Pratt reportedly hauled in about 87% of absentee ballots and roughly 55% of early‑mail votes, while taking only about 27% of in‑person machine votes. Attorneys for the board argue those patterns are too lopsided to ignore and say they point to improper handling of mail voting.
Clerk Sidelined As District Pushes For Albany Intervention
The district has placed Keys, along with the district clerk pro tem, on administrative leave while investigators dig into the allegations. At the same time, the board has voted to ask State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa to review the election and, if needed, order a fix, News 12 reports.
In a statement to the outlet, Board Vice President Victor Pratt defended Keys and insisted the accusations are “nothing further from the truth.” Some parents, however, told reporters they want a fast, transparent accounting of every absentee and early‑mail ballot before anyone declares the race settled.
Skewed Numbers And The Big Question Hanging Over The Race
The appeal leans heavily on the breakdown of how people voted. The petition highlights how absentee and early‑mail returns leaned dramatically toward Pratt compared with in‑person tallies and notes that other trustee candidates together received fewer than 100 absentee and early‑mail ballots combined. That imbalance, the filing argues, can only be explained by improper handling of mailed ballots, according to the New York Post.
Board officials say those alleged irregularities undercut public confidence in the results and directly affected who won the May 19 trustee contest.
What Albany Can Do About Hempstead’s Mess
Under state law, the education commissioner can hear appeals like Hempstead’s and, if the evidence shows the result was tainted, order remedies that can include a new election or other corrective steps. Past rulings from the New York State Education Department’s Office of Counsel spell out how these appeals are supposed to work.
By filing its petition, Hempstead has now triggered that process. The case could lead to both administrative and law-enforcement reviews before any final certification of the trustee race is allowed to stand.
