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Carmen Arroyo, Longtime Bronx State Rep, Removed From Primary Ballot For Election Fraud
By
David Cruz
Published May 22, 2020
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New York State Assembly
By
David Cruz
Published May 22, 2020
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State Assemblymember Carmen Arroyo—a fixture in Bronx politics for decades—has been removed from the primary ballot by the state's highest court for alleged petition fraud. The judge's ruling all but ensures a victory for her rival, Amanda Septimo, who will be the sole Democrat to appear on the ballot for the June 23rd primary.
The Court of Appeals ruled against Arroyo, 84, who’s been representing the 84th Assembly District in the South Bronx since 1994, after finding that the signatures she needed to get on the ballot were invalid.
The court stated that 512 of the 944 signatures on Arroyo's petitions were dated February 25th and 26th, yet records show that Arroyo didn't pick up the petitions from the printer until February 27th.
While the state has lowered the threshold of signatures needed to get on the ballot to 150, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority ruled that the sheer fact that Arroyo's account conflicted with statements on when she received the petitions is still grounds for removal.
“The lower courts should have concluded that this is one of those rare instances in which the designating petition is so ‘permeated’ by fraud ‘as a whole as to call for its invalidation,’” the majority wrote in its opinion, citing related case law.
Arroyo was represented by Stanley Schlein, an expert in election law and deeply entrenched in Bronx politics. He did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Arroyo's office.
The her minority opinion, Judge Leslie Stein pointed to the remainder of the signatures that were collected without any dispute over their validity.
"Any specter of fraud surrounding the more than 240 valid signatures on other pages of the designating petitions as conceded that those pages did not suffer from a similar irregularity," said Stein.
The winner of the Democratic primary in the Bronx often advances to win the November general election. Septimo, a 29-year-old progressive Democrat who ran against Arroyo in 2018, would represent Mott Haven, Hunts Point, and parts of Highbridge.
“I honestly am in total shock and don’t quite have words for how it feels yet, but I know that am very excited for what’s to come for The Bronx,” Septimo told Gothamist.
Arroyo's stature as the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to the male-dominated State Legislature elevated her prominence in Bronx politics. But numerous scandals—including a failure to report $30,000 in mysterious "casino winnings"—eventually overshadowed that distinction. Arroyo was also accused of voter fraud in 2012.
The news also comes the same day as the Court of Appeals removed Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright of the 76th Assembly District off the ballot for not filing the requisite cover sheet on her petitions in March. Seawright also did not get the appropriate approvals to be on the Working Families Party line by the required deadline, the court ruled.
Seawright claimed that she was sick from COVID-19, and was unable to meet the dates.
The removal of two Assembly members from the ballot represents a rarity in New York politics, according to Sarah Steiner, an election attorney.
"It's an astonishing year," said Steiner, adding Arroyo has very little recourse in the way of quickly getting back on the primary ballot at this point. "I think what we're looking at here is Assemblymember Amanda Septimo."
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elections
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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