The District Attorney of Nassau County has initiated an investigation into a school election on Long Island after a clerk was reportedly arrested for allegedly destroying ballots to aid a local DJ’s campaign for a school board position.
April Keyes, the clerk for the Hempstead Union Free School District, along with the current board president, Victor Pratt—who is also known as DJ Vic Lover—are under scrutiny following claims that Keyes shredded ballots and disposed of them in a trash can to help Pratt secure re-election. This information was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office, Ann Donnelly.
While no further comments have been made, it has been reported that an internal 51-page investigation revealed shocking evidence of fraud during May’s school board election.
Pratt’s win was by a margin of just 81 votes, although he had placed third in the machine votes. His success appeared to rely heavily on a notably high volume of absentee and early mail-in ballots.
The DJ garnered 87% of absentee votes and 55% of early mail-in votes, yet only 27% of the votes cast in person. In contrast, other candidates received significantly fewer absentee and mail-in ballots, according to the investigation findings.
Officials believe that Keyes, who held the responsibility for the elections, was involved in tearing up the official ballots and, with the assistance of administrator Owen Peters and Pratt, was seen smuggling ballots out of the office and discarding them.
In light of the district’s alarming revelations, the state of New York has stepped in, mandating a new election slated for August 17th, and has appointed Neil Boyd, the Superintendent of Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, as the interim clerk to oversee the new voting process.
According to the school district, Keyes took leave three days after the election.
