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ALBANY — A small town battle over fewer than 70 ballots from November's election could decide if downstate New Yorkers, most of them Democrats, can vote from their weekend and vacation homes upstate, a Republican outpost that can be shaken by a few strategically placed voters.
In the town of Taghkanic, some 100 miles north of New York City, a handful of local elections — highway superintendent, town justice and two town council seats — are on hold until the courts decide whether final ballots can be counted. The winners are supposed to take office Jan. 1.
The community of about 1,100 people wasn't expecting the political battle that's landed on their front lawns. But it started years ago for state Republicans who have gradually watched the erosion of their traditional hold on upstate New York.
At issue is state election law that defines residence as the place "where a person maintains a fixed, permanent and principal home and to which he, wherever temporarily located, always intends to return."
Republicans are challenging the ballots in Taghkanic's local races, arguing that people who split their time between Columbia County and downstate counties are voting improperly from their second home upstate and should have to prove which location is their principal residence.
"It seems that voters need to pick the residence they (Republicans) want them to," said Kathleen O'Keefe, an attorney representing Columbia County Democratic Committee Chairman Chris Nolan and the Democratic candidates in Taghkanic.
On Friday, an appellate court rejected the Democrats' move to dismiss the suit, but said Republicans shouldn't challenge dual residency issues after ballots have been cast. Republicans said they would still pursue their arguments when the case is sent back to the Supreme Court in Columbia County.
"Our position is you should vote where you live and live where you vote," said John Ciampoli, an attorney for the Republicans. "We're not saying if you own more than one place, you can't choose, but we're saying if you choose it must be a real choice, it must be supported by all of the choices you make."
Marge Blaine, a Democrat whose vote is being challenged, splits time between Brooklyn and Taghkanic and said she's voted in Taghkanic for about 15 years. She said her driver's license lists her upstate address, she donates to local causes and she doesn't receive any tax break on her Brooklyn residence.
"I feel like we're being robbed, or I've lost something that is rightfully mine," she said. "When I was a little girl I remember my mother saying one of the great things about this country is that we vote, and it's very important that we vote. And here we are being challenged."
In recent years, some voters who divide their time between downstate and upstate counties have switched their registration to vote in the region where Republicans have a narrow enrollment advantage. Republicans contend these weekend and holiday upstaters may influence elections, and they've been waiting for the right time to challenge the votes.
Republicans want to subpoena a long list of documents for each voter, including credit card bills, driver's licenses, income tax returns — even library cards, memberships for health clubs, social clubs, organizations and unions.
"I think it's an intrusion on their privacy and it's meant to intimidate them to change their registration out of Columbia County," O'Keefe said.
All personal information would be redacted from the documents Republicans are seeking. Lawyers say they just want to see which address is being used.
"How can you file for the STAR (tax benefit) knowing that's where you're supposed to be registered to vote and you're registered somewhere else?" Ciampoli said.
Republicans want to establish a legal precedent that would clarify what is required to claim residency for election purposes.
"Hopefully, this will put more of a bright-line test out there," Ciampoli said. "We won't have the other party trying to wholesale transfer voters into the Hudson Valley."
In the special election for New York's 20th congressional seat earlier this year, Republican Jim Tedisco lost to Congressman Scott Murphy. Republicans initially hoped they could challenge the votes but abandoned the effort when it became clear Tedisco wouldn't win, even if downstate votes were thrown out.
Democrats have been helped by organized efforts such as www.countryvote.org. The site, affiliated with the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, tells voters that changing their registration won't require them to serve jury duty upstate or have tax consequences, and that voters can use an absentee ballot to cast their vote from their downstate home.
"As a New Yorker, you don't necessarily have to vote where you spend the work week," the site said. "If you have a place in the country, too, you're free to vote where you believe your vote matters most."
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