WHITE PLAINS – The in the Westchester Supreme Court has drawn the attention of the New York State Board of Elections.
Democrat Lisa Jessup and Republican Erik Haight filed the lawsuit against Dutchess County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair, a Democrat, after he notified the BOEs of an audit, but Haight and Jessup argued the comptroller lacked authority to conduct it. According to many local lawyers, Aymar-Blair’s audit appears to be more an investigation into personnel management than financial practices.
Aymar-Blair issued subpoenas to the commissioners in July, maintaining that the county administrative code allows such action if the requested information is not forthcoming. The Comptroller’s audit plan of the BOE covers the period of January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025. According to Aymar-Blair, the audit intends to evaluate the BOE’s payroll compliance for election workers. The BOE claims the evaluation is beyond the Comptroller’s authority.
“The Comptroller has no authority to review its (BOE) operations, including its election worker payroll processes and payroll recordkeeping practices,” which are “beyond his purview to review,” the lawsuit says, while seeking to quash the subpoenas and restrain the Comptroller from “auditing, investigating, or otherwise examining the policies, procedures, and operations of the BOE.”
The New York State BOE recently filed an Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) brief defending the Dutchess County BOE’s actions.
“This case is about the County of Dutchess’ Comptroller attempting to interfere with the procedures and orderly operations of the Dutchess County BOE, exercise oversight of a “state entity”, and usurp the authority granted to the bipartisan State Board of Elections,” the brief says.
Arguing that Aymar-Blair does not possess the authority to scrutinize the BOE, the brief also says, “The investigation of the Comptroller is nothing more than an attempt to force the DCBOE to answer to him. This is precisely the type of usurpation the law does not allow.” The New York State Legislature, through a constitutional mandate, gives county boards of elections “complete and exclusive control of their personnel and the performance of their duties in that highly sensitive government area,” the brief added. County boards of elections are considered quasi-state agencies and the State BOE attorney says the Dutchess County Comptroller does not have the power to subpoena the DCBOE because it cannot subject a state entity to an investigation.
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