Sullivan County in New York is back in the news again, as the local residents and the residing Hasidic community continue their head to head battle. The Upstate County is trying to prevent Hasidic voters from voting in an upcoming election solely based off of their religious beliefs, according to a new federal lawsuit. The Sullivan County Board of Elections (BOE) sent notices to 184 of 285 registered voters January 16 stating that it “intended to cancel their voter registration and to deprive them of the right to vote.” More than 160 of those 184 voters are Hasidim. Since the village of Bloomingburg has seen a large migration of Hasidic Jews, there has been a heavy animosity filling the air. Local officials have thrown up roadblocks trying to stifle the Jewish voices.
“All of them had previously registered to vote in Bloomingburg, which is in Sullivan County,” the complaint continues, but the notice demanded those voters give new evidence to prove “why your registration should not be cancelled.”
Plaintiffs in the suit and other Hasidim complied with these demands, the suit says, but the BOE said February 27 it would cancel 156 of the 184 voters’ registrations–without further explanation, according to Newsweek.
“What makes the action even more egregious here is that the Board of Elections has sought to cancel the votes of virtually every Hasidic Jewish resident of Bloomingburg. The Board plainly singled out these voters for challenge based entirely upon their religion,” the lawsuit declares.
Full Article: Hasidic Community in Bloomingburg Files Lawsuit Over Voting Rights |.