An 83-year-old Huntington woman who says she never knew she was running for office is now at the center of a widening political firestorm that has drawn in New York's top law enforcement official. Subpoenas from the state attorney general have landed at Huntington Town Hall after Maria Delgado unexpectedly pulled in roughly 1,200 votes on the Working Families Party line in last year's supervisor race, a total that may have helped shape the outcome and has residents demanding answers.
State AG Subpoenas Town Records
The New York attorney general's office has ordered the town to turn over employment files and other material tied to the November 2025 election, according to Huntington Now. Town Hall spokeswoman Chris Geed told the outlet the town "is fully cooperating with the AG’s Office" and declined to comment on any "current or pending investigations." The subpoenas publicly ramp up a review that officials say has been open since last year, signaling that state investigators now want a deeper dive into how the ballot was assembled.
How Delgado's 1,200 Votes Mattered
Delgado, an 83-year-old Huntington Station resident, has told reporters she "had no idea" her name was on the ballot at all. Yet she won the Working Families Party primary, then went on to collect about 1,195 votes on the WFP line in November, figures reported by CBS New York. That total was larger than the margin between incumbent Republican Supervisor Edmund Smyth and Democratic challenger Cooper Macco, a fact that immediately set off alarms among Democrats and Working Families Party leaders. They began pressing for documents and explanations about how Delgado's petitions were gathered, filed and approved, and state and local officials say those questions helped prompt the attorney general's document demands.
Petition Irregularities Flagged
A closer look at the paperwork behind Delgado's surprise candidacy has only intensified the scrutiny. Local reporting identified apparent irregularities in the petitions that put her on the ballot, including a listed petition witness at a Greenlawn address where current residents say no one there signed the forms, according to News 12 Long Island. Coverage has also noted that a town employee named as a petition witness for Delgado does not appear to have lived at the address printed on the paperwork for several years. Those discrepancies have fueled calls for a clear, document-driven accounting of who actually collected signatures and how the ballot line came together.
Local Response And Legal Pushback
Republicans at Town Hall have tried to swat down the uproar, labeling many of the allegations surfacing after Election Day as "post-election spin and sour grapes." Attorneys representing petition carriers echo that theme, arguing that subpoenas overhype what happened and insisting their clients have cooperated with investigators, according to Huntington Now. John LoTurco, who represents one petition carrier, told the outlet his client "did absolutely nothing wrong" and has already worked with authorities. On the other side, the Working Families Party and local Democrats say the pattern of odd or unexplained candidacies on their ballot line is too serious to brush off and deserves a full probe.
What Comes Next
The subpoenas themselves do not mean anyone will be charged. They simply compel Huntington to hand over records so investigators can review them and decide whether the evidence points to civil violations or a potential criminal referral. Officials caution that collecting and analyzing the documents will take time, while local activists keep a close eye out for any indication of a coordinated effort to game third-party ballot lines. For now, town leaders say they are cooperating with the process, and the attorney general's office has the documents it requested.
