Overview
- The New York State Education Department annulled the May 19 trustee result on Thursday and directed a new election to be held within 60 days under Neil Boyle as the outside district clerk.
- The Hempstead district filed a 51-page petition and a commissioned report saying district clerk April Keys smuggled official ballots out of her office, tore up cast ballots, and left evidence later recovered from a dumpster.
- Investigators say surveillance footage shows candidate Victor Pratt leaving the clerk’s office the night before the vote carrying a large stack of absentee ballots and attorneys later found ripped ballots and shredded mail‑in applications in a tied bag.
- The report highlighted a stark absentee‑vote pattern that gave Pratt 82 absentee ballots and propelled him from third in machine votes to a narrow 81‑vote victory, which prompted the board to withhold certification.
- Keys and her assistant Lottie Whitehead were placed on paid leave and the district has referred findings to the Nassau County district attorney, who is reviewing the matter while the revote is arranged and the community waits for a legally secure outcome.