There are continued questions about the election process in Monroe County. This follows documented primary day problems.

“We need a fully functioning Board of Elections,” said Monroe County Legislature Minority Leader Vince Felder.

What You Need To Know


  • Questions continue to surround the Monroe County primary election

  • The lack of a permanent Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner has been cited for some possible problems

  • Some people were not able to vote at one polling place, while a candidate's name was left off of some ballots

  • Monroe County Executive Adam Bello also called for change

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who disagrees with that observation, but it’s clear some Democrats in Monroe County are not on the same page. Much of the chatter centers around the lack of a permanent Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.

“She has been sabotaged since she has taken over as the acting commissioner," said Felder, speaking of Acting Democratic Monroe County Board of Elections Commissioner LaShona Boose. “The controversies that have been raised within the party have helped to exacerbate what occurred on Tuesday.”

What exactly happened on Tuesday? Some people were not able to vote at one polling place in the city, or at least vote for the candidate of their choice, because her name was not on the ballot.

“It appears that the elections inspector there, rather than following instructions, took another course of action.”

Some constituents ended up not voting.

“Don’t want any African-American or Latino voters to ever feel like they are being denied the right to vote for the candidate of their choice," said Felder. "So I’m personally apologizing for that and we’re taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

Those steps include the removal of the poll workers who officials say did not follow instructions. 

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello also called for change. 

“I think there should be an examination into what worked and what didn’t work and those problems need to be resolved before November," Bello said.

Despite the troubles, Felder says primary day went smoothly for most voters.