New City, NY – A lawsuit challenging the accuracy of the 2024 presidential and U.S. Senate election results in Rockland County, New York, has progressed to the discovery phase, following revelations that former Vice President Kamala Harris received zero votes in certain districts despite strong support for Democratic Senate candidate Kirsten Gillibrand.
Filed by nonpartisan election integrity group SMART Legislation, the case alleges discrepancies in vote tallies, including undercounted ballots for independent Senate candidate Diane Sare and statistical anomalies that experts deem “highly unlikely.”
The Lawsuit’s Origins and Key Allegations
The legal action, initiated in December 2024 in New York Supreme Court, Rockland County, was brought by SMART Legislation, the advocacy arm of SMART Elections alongside independent U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare and two Rockland County voters, Mark Murphy and Adam Mocio.
The plaintiffs accuse the Rockland County Board of Elections of failing to accurately count votes, citing sworn affidavits from voters whose ballots for Sare were not reflected in official tallies.
For instance, in District 39, nine voters provided sworn statements claiming they voted for Sare on Election Day, yet the Board recorded only five votes—a nearly 50% shortfall. Similarly, in District 62, five affidavits contrasted with three recorded votes, a 40% deficit. These discrepancies, the complaint argues, indicate systemic errors or undercounting that violate voters’ constitutional rights.
The case gained traction after Judge Rachel Tanguay ruled on May 22, 2025, that discovery must proceed, allowing plaintiffs to gather evidence such as election documents, voter rolls, voting machine software details, and depositions of election officials. In a March 3, 2025, decision, Tanguay dismissed broader requests to invalidate the entire election or appoint a monitor but left the recount petition intact, noting the allegations warranted further scrutiny.
Lulu Friesdat, founder and executive director of SMART Legislation, emphasized the stakes in a statement: “There is clear evidence that the senate results are incorrect, and there are statistical indications that the presidential results are highly unlikely. If the results are incorrect, it is a violation of the constitutional rights of each person who voted in the 2024 Rockland County general election.”
Anomalies in Presidential Voting Patterns
Central to the lawsuit are reported irregularities in presidential vote tallies, particularly in districts with large Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities in the town of Ramapo. In District 35, 331 voters selected Gillibrand for Senate, yet Harris received zero votes—despite Trump garnering 552. A similar pattern emerged in District 55, where 909 voted for Gillibrand but only two for Harris.
The complaint highlights a “drop-off rate” disparity: Harris experienced a negative 9% drop-off compared to Gillibrand (meaning fewer votes than expected), while Trump showed a positive 23% overperformance relative to Republican Senate candidate Mike Sapraicone. Across New York, Gillibrand outperformed Harris by about 90,000 votes statewide, but the Rockland gaps are cited as extreme.
Max Bonamente, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and author of Statistics and Analysis of Scientific Data, analyzed the data and concluded that the 2024 results in four of Rockland’s five towns are “highly unlikely” when compared to 2020 patterns. “These data would require extreme sociological or political causes for their explanation, and would benefit from further assurances as to their fidelity,” Bonamente stated.
The plaintiffs argue these anomalies suggest potential machine errors, undercounting, or other issues, especially given recent software updates to voting machines by vendor Pro V&V without public documentation. Discovery requests include forensic copies of hard drives, network diagrams and details on modem, Wi-Fi, or cellular connections—aiming to verify chain of custody and rule out tampering.
Explanations: Bloc Voting or Genuine Irregularities?
Election officials and experts have offered an alternative explanation rooted in Rockland’s demographics. The county, home to over 109,900 Jewish residents (about 32% of its 340,807 population), features tight-knit Hasidic and Orthodox communities that often engage in “bloc voting,” following rabbinical endorsements regardless of party lines. Gillibrand has cultivated strong ties with these groups, securing their support in past elections, while Harris may not have received similar backing.
Rockland Republican Elections Commissioner Patricia Giblin affirmed that the Board “thoroughly reviewed the results and confirmed no irregularities, fraud or hacking.” County Attorney Thomas Humbach echoed this, stating the claims “have no merit” and that petitioners do not qualify for a recount under law. County spokesperson Beth Cefalu added, “We have full faith the Board of Elections conducted a free & fair election & that every vote was counted correctly.”
MIT election expert Charles Stewart III analyzed precinct-level data and found no evidence of manipulation, attributing discrepancies primarily to Ramapo’s bloc voting. In 2020, similar patterns occurred: Trump defeated Joe Biden 528-0 in District 35, yet voters supported Democratic Senate incumbents. A 2022 midterms example showed Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul losing 408-24 in the same district while Sen. Chuck Schumer won 266-113.
Jewish Insider reported in October 2024 that both parties courted Orthodox leaders for endorsements, highlighting the bloc’s influence. University of Miami professor Ira Sheskin noted Rockland’s Jewish population’s voting cohesion. However, Friesdat acknowledged the districts’ demographics but argued bloc voting does not fully explain the anomalies, especially clustered across multiple machines, and a recount is needed for reassurance.
New York State Board of Elections spokesperson Kathleen McGrath confirmed voting machines cannot connect to the internet, dismissing hacking claims like those involving Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Why It Matters
The lawsuit, while localized, has amplified election skepticism, particularly among some Democrats and independents. A YouGov poll found 41% of self-reported Harris voters doubt Trump’s legitimate win, mirroring post-2020 Republican denialism.
Social media platforms like X, Threads, and Reddit have circulated claims, with users questioning the zero-vote districts and affidavits. TikTok videos and posts from accounts like @electiontruth.bsky.social have garnered millions of views, though experts like Stewart call it a “nothingburger.”
Votebeat reported the case fanning mistrust on the left, with online narratives suggesting broader 2024 irregularities—echoing unsubstantiated 2020 theories from the right. Snopes rated related claims as needing context, verifying the data but attributing it to bloc voting. Despite hype, the suit cannot overturn certified results, as Congress affirmed Trump’s victory in January 2025.
SMART Elections, a nonpartisan group focused on voter rights, raised $100,000 for the case and now seeks $500,000 for 2026 protections. Critics, including local media like the Rockland County Business Journal, note past bloc voting and question the suit’s impact, predicting it may only uncover procedural issues without changing outcomes.
HOTTEST STORIES NOW
- Lawmaker Caught on Video in Alleged Ballot Stuffing Scandal, Raising Questions in Trump-Won Swing State
- Epstein Survivor Testifies She Met Donald Trump at Age 14, Other Disturbing Revelations Emerge
- Donald Trump Melts Down After Report Reveals His Lewd Birthday Letter to Jeffrey Epstein
What Next?
Discovery continues, with plaintiffs submitting 15 pages of requests in June 2025 for voting machine details, software updates, and complaints since 2020. The Board must respond, and depositions are anticipated. A compliance conference is set for September 22, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in New City, where Judge Tanguay may decide on a full hand recount of presidential and Senate ballots.
Friesdat reiterated, “The best way to reassure the public… is to conduct a full, transparent, hand recount.” If approved, it would compare paper ballots against machine tallies, potentially revealing errors or confirming accuracy. While unlikely to affect national results, the case shows ongoing debates about election integrity, machine transparency, and bloc voting’s role in diverse communities.
Discover more from Local Stories
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.