Oceanside sanitation commissioners amend voting bylaws

Austin Graff, chairman of the Oceanside Sanitation District No. 7 Board of Commissioners, voted to amend the bylaws for the district at its Oct. 3 meeting in response to recent election controversies.

Courtesy Austin Graff

In response to voting eligibility controversy in its recent elections, the Oceanside Sanitation District No. 7 Board of Commissioners voted to amend the election voting bylaws at its Oct. 3 meeting.

Board Chairman Austin Graff said the board amended the laws to ensure that the residents who vote in the district’s election are registered voters who live or own businesses in Oceanside. He added that the district will host registration opportunities 10 to 15 days before the election so that potential voters can be vetted and offer proof that they live or own businesses in the hamlet.

“Over the last several years, we’ve had issues with the election,” Graff said. “This make the rules crystal clear. It also makes sure that we don’t have affidavit ballots.”

The winner of the commissioner elections the past two Junes took nearly three weeks after polls closed to decide. Graff was declared the winner over Joe Cibellis in the 2018 race after 187 written affidavits from voters who were not on the district’s voting rolls remained uncounted. Commissioner Joe Samoles was declared the winner over incumbent Tom Lanning and fellow challenger Jordan Kaplan this past June after 71 affidavit ballots were counted. The ballots were cast by individuals not listed in the voting book as registered voters, but who were eligible to vote because they claimed to live in the district, Graff told the Herald in July.

In order to eliminate the complexity of the affidavit ballots, Graff said, it was necessary to change the bylaws. The board voted, 4-0, to amend the voting regulations. Commissioner Matthew Horowitz was not present at the meeting. For the June 2020 election, only those registered in the election book will be eligible to vote.

Graff said property owners — both businesses and homes — will have the opportunity to register to vote during the registration period, which had not been announced at press time. The property must be in the landowner’s name, he added and potential voters must have lived or operated a business in Oceanside for more than a month and be over 18.

“We’re doing it now in October so that we can start the process,” Graff explained. “People will have an opportunity. If they want to vote, they just have to come and sign up.”