ICYMI: CITY & STATE: LEE ZELDIN FACES CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FOR FRAUDULENT SIGNATURES
For Immediate Release: August 5, 2022
ICYMI: CITY & STATE: LEE ZELDIN FACES CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FOR FRAUDULENT SIGNATURES
NEW YORK, NY - Public scrutiny of Lee Zeldin’s campaign has ratcheted up another level. In the latest development of Zeldin’s petition fraud scandal, New York Senate Elections Committee Chair Zellnor Myrie has called for a criminal investigation into the Zeldin campaign’s submission of 11,000 fake signatures to get on the Independence Party ballot line, a serious offense that could result in multiple charges, including felonies.
Yesterday, Senator Myrie filed a complaint with Albany County District Attorney David Soares: “In my role as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, I have not hesitated to defend our system of elections from spurious allegations of fraud,” Myrie said. “However, when actual election fraud appears to have occurred, as it does in this case, it is essential for the public trust that potential violations are investigated fully and swiftly.”
Under the false pretense of voter fraud, Zeldin pushed the dangerous, far-right conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate. Now, Zeldin faces credible accusations of actual election fraud, highlighting his hypocrisy for New York voters to see.
Read the key excerpts from the City & State news story below:
City & State: Rep. Lee Zeldin faces complaint over allegedly fraudulent signatures
By: Rebecca Lewis, 8/4/22
Rep. Lee Zeldin has spoken extensively about his concerns regarding voter fraud and election integrity when he questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election. But now, he may find himself at the heart of an election fraud case after a Democratic state senator filed a complaint about thousands of allegedly photocopied petition signatures submitted on behalf of Zeldin’s campaign for governor.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie filed a complaint with the Albany County District Attorney David Soares, asking that he investigate allegations that Zeldin’s campaign submitted over 11,000 photocopied petition signatures in order to appear on the Independence Party line in November. [...]
That’s why Myrie, who chairs the state Senate Elections Committee and has sponsored numerous election reforms, has implored Soares to open a criminal investigation. “In my role as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, I have not hesitated to defend our system of elections from spurious allegations of fraud,” Myrie said in the complaint shared exclusively with City & State. “However, when actual election fraud appears to have occurred, as it does in this case, it is essential for the public trust that potential violations are investigated fully and swiftly.”
Myrie specifically mentioned Eric Amidon, Zeldin’s campaign manager and longtime chief of staff, in addition to the candidate himself, and suggested that petition gatherers acted at their behest. He claimed that campaign agents “presumably under the watchful eye and at the direction of … Eric Amidon, and potentially the candidates named in the Petition,” began putting together petition sheets with photocopies mixed in. Myrie asserted his belief that those involved with filing the petitions were “clearly aware of or involved in that fabrication.”
The allegations and the new complaint came after Zeldin made waves for perpetuating unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and he decided to vote against certifying those results on Jan. 6, 2021. “When people, especially elected leaders, make false claims about our elections and claim fraud without evidence, we need to forcefully call that out. Myrie said in a statement to City & State, referring to Donald Trump’s lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. “If those same leaders turn around and violate election law themselves, WITH evidence, we need to call that out too.” [...]
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