A 25-year-old Stony Point man surrendered to Rockland County authorities Wednesday and was arraigned on a string of felony charges connected to an alleged scheme to cast a ballot that wasn't his in a Republican committee primary. Aidan Rowan was accused of forgery, tampering with public records, and filing false statements after an investigation that began when both parties on the county's election board flagged the same voter's ballot.
Sheriff Details Charges After Weeks on the Run
Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco III announced the arrest Wednesday, saying investigators had probable cause to charge Rowan with second-degree forgery, four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third-degree tampering with public records, four counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, and two counts of first-degree making an apparently sworn false statement, according to Monsey Scoop. Rowan had been a candidate in the Stony Point Republican committee's primary, held in June 2026, according to the Rockland County Sheriff's Office. He surrendered to the Sheriff's Office, was processed, and was arraigned in Clarkstown Justice Court, where he was released on his own recognizance pending a future court appearance, News12 New York reports.
The Warrant Predated Rowan's Surrender by 12 Days Authorities issued an arrest warrant through Town of Clarkstown Court on October 23 after unsuccessful attempts to locate him, per the same account from Monsey Scoop. He is scheduled to return to court at a later date, and under New York law he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A Tip From Both Sides of the Aisle
A Tip From Both Sides of the Aisle The case started with an unusual bit of bipartisan agreement. Investigators opened their probe after both the Republican and Democratic commissioners of the Rockland County Board of Elections reported allegations that a voter's ballot may have been cast without that voter's knowledge, the station's report notes. That complaint, filed jointly by officials who typically sit on opposite sides of election disputes, set off the inquiry that ultimately led to Rowan's arrest.
The investigation has not been limited to a single accusation. Rowan faces charges including forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument, tampering with public records, offering a false instrument for filing, and making an apparently sworn false statement, reflecting the multiple counts investigators say they built against him. One of those charges, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, applies under state law when someone knowingly presents a written instrument containing false information to a government entity, intending to defraud it and knowing or believing the document will become part of that entity's official records, according to the New York State Senate's text of the statute.
Investigators Say Search Didn't Extend Beyond Rowan
Despite the scope of the charges against Rowan, investigators were explicit about the limits of what they found. The investigation found no evidence implicating any other individual, candidate, campaign, or elected official, according to the Rockland County Sheriff's Office. That finding echoes earlier scrutiny of Rowan dating back to September, when the Rockland County Business Journal first reported that Sheriff Falco had confirmed an ongoing investigation into the young Republican operative over possible ballot fraud.
With Rowan now formally charged and released pending his next court date, the case moves into its next phase while the underlying question that triggered it — how a ballot allegedly ended up cast without a voter's knowledge — awaits resolution in Clarkstown Justice Court.
