A monitor will be appointed to oversee the voting process in a tiny Catskills village that’s been plagued by allegations of anti-Semitism from Hasidic Jewish residents, new court filings say.
Ten residents of Bloomingburg sued the Sullivan County Board of Elections last March, accusing it of trying to cancel about 160 Hasidic voter registrations and “engaging in an unyielding discriminatory campaign to deprive Hasidic Jewish residents … of the fundamental right to vote,” the Manhattan federal lawsuit said.
The board claimed it needed proof of residency from the voters.
Now, a monitor will be selected by both the residents who sued and the board to serve for five years. If the parties can’t come to an agreement, one will be appointed by the court, according to court papers filed Monday.
The monitor will have the authority to review the voter challenge questionnaire to ensure it doesn’t “impose an unnecessary burden on the constitutional right to vote,” papers say.
Also as part of the agreement, voting materials, as well as signs advising voters of their rights, will be posted in Yiddish and English.
The county will fork over $25,000 total to the plaintiffs and $550,000 in attorneys’ fees.
Judge Katherine Forrest approved the settlement late Monday.
“We’re pleased that we were able to resolve this. We think this settlement is a victory for all citizens of Sullivan County,” said Steven Engel, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
Attorneys for the county didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
Bloomingburg, which lies about 60 miles west of Poughkeepsie, had a population of 420 in 2010, according to census data.
In 2014, the village was also accused in a $25 million lawsuit of trying to block members of Brooklyn’s Satmar Hasidic community from relocating there by tying up approvals for a school as well as a 396-unit townhouse project.
“The village and town are seeking to use their political power, economic pressure, zoning laws, and sheer intimidation to prevent a certain type of people from joining their community,” the suit said.
That lawsuit is still pending in Manhattan federal court.