Contributing Authors: Diane Schaber and Dana E. Richter
HUNTINGTON, NY – Residents and visitors gathered outside Huntington Town Hall ahead of the scheduled Town Board meeting, holding signs, asking questions, and responding to calls on Facebook and in local news outlets to “demand answers” about the 2025 Huntington election. While some attendees were curious observers, others pushed for a re-vote or a deeper investigation into what they believe may be irregularities in the results. Several participants said they had contacted the New York State Attorney General’s office, which confirmed it was reviewing the concerns.
Organizers of the rally emphasized that their goal is to ensure that future elections remain “free and fair for all,” regardless of party.
Media Conduct at the Event
During the demonstration, members of the Huntington Matters team also observed interactions between local media and rally organizers. A Newsday photographer was heard suggesting that protesters line up for a photograph, and shortly afterward, the accompanying reporter stated that “someone should say something.” While media outlets often provide logistical direction to capture clear visuals or audio, the exchange raised concerns among some attendees who felt the remarks might influence the natural flow of the event rather than simply document it.
Background on the Election Controversy
At the center of the controversy is the extremely close race for Town Supervisor, in which incumbent Ed Smyth narrowly won. The tight margin drew new scrutiny to the Working Families Party (WFP) ballot line. Maria Delgado – Supervisor, Chris Haines – Superintendent of Highways, George Bergbuchler – Town Council and Erick Greene – Town Council – A slate of largely unknown candidates – appeared on the WFP line who did not campaign publicly or provide contact information. Despite the lack of visibility, all of them met petition requirements and won the WFP Primary Election in June 2025, unseating the WFP’s endorsed slate of Democratic candidates Cooper Macco – Supervisor, Vincent Colavita – Superintendent of Highways, Jen Hebert – Town Council and Stephen Anastasia – Town Council – securing their place on the November General Election ballot.
Questions escalated on Election Day, when the WFP line received a notably high number of votes (1,195) in a race where the Republican and Democratic candidates were separated by a small margin of 602 votes in the unofficial results. Although the WFP candidates had been officially on the ballot since the Primary’s April 7, 2025 deadline, most residents only became aware of their presence after the General Election results were released.
Debate Over Fusion Voting
While New York State election law appears to confirm that the process was legal, many residents are now asking a broader question: Should parties be allowed to use the WFP line or any minor-party line as a strategic tool to attract votes for major-party candidates?
Fusion voting or cross-endorsing, which allows candidates to run on multiple party lines, has existed in New York since before the Civil War and has long been used by both Republicans and Democrats. Fusion voting is illegal in all states except New York and Connecticut. The Working Families Party, founded in 1989, has often cross-endorsed candidates from larger parties, making it a powerful but sometimes controversial presence in close races.
Rally organizers say neither major party is blameless, and it is affirmed that both have benefited from the WFP line at different times. The protesters are calling for reforms that would strengthen the Huntington Working Families Party as an independent entity, ensuring that its ballot line reflects the choices of its voters – not the strategies of larger political operations.
As one organizer put it, the goal is simple: “We want elections that are transparent, free, and fair for everyone regardless of party.”
Attendance and Public Response
While other news outlets report attendance of 70 and 90 people, Huntington Matters counted up to 60 people in attendance outside — including media and visitors — based on their live video. After the protest, many went inside to attend the Board Meeting, and some spoke during the Public Portion with their concerns about the election.
New York State’s Process for Candidates to Appear on the Ballot – Signature Not Required
Anyone can nominate someone from their own political party to be on the ballot for any position in New York State and NO CANDIDATE SIGNATURE is required. The people nominating the Candidate can circulate their petition and gather signatures from fellow party members and then submit the completed petition to the Suffolk County Board of Elections – NO CANDIDATE SIGNATURE is required.
As per the New York State Board of Elections 2025 Political Calendar, Petitions could be circulated from February 25th to April 3rd and had to be filed with the Suffolk County Board of Elections (SCBOE) between March 31st and April 3rd. The SCBOE sent Maria Delgado a letter dated April 4, 2025 notifying her that petitions were received for her candidacy for Supervisor with a deadline to decline her candidacy of April 7th – the New York State deadline. She didn’t decline.
If the submitted Petition has errors or missing information, the Suffolk County Board of Elections mails a letter to the Candidate letting them know of the problems with their petition. Maria Delgado was sent a letter dated April 5, 2025 notifying her that there were issues with her submitted petition that had to be cured by April 9th. The pages needed to be numbered and they had to be stapled together. It was fixed and delivered to the SCBOE, notarized April 8th. On April 28th Maria Delgado was sent a letter inviting her to attend the Ballot Drawing on May 1st, with opportunities to inspect the voting equipment on June 3rd and 4th.
The WFP had endorsed their preferred Primary Election candidates in April as the Democrat candidates. They chose to cross endorse – as they usually do. The only time a candidate MUST sign documents is if they are an Independent (unaffiliated) candidate or a candidate running for a party that they are not registered for – so Cooper Macco and the other Democratic Candidates had to sign the “Certificate of Acceptance By Candidate” document accepting the nomination for the WFP endorsement.
ANYONE from ANY PARTY can step forward to run for office.
Records show that Maria Delgado voted in the WFP Primary on June 29th where her Primary ballot had 2 names on it – Cooper Macco and Maria Delgado. She won the Primary with 109 votes to Macco’s 26 votes, securing her spot as the WFP Candidate for Supervisor. Her 3 WFP running mates also won the Primary and their positions on the General Election ballot.
As per the New York State Board of Elections 2025 Political Calendar, any candidate could withdraw from the General Election by August 4, 2025. She did not withdraw. She was sent an SCBOE Candidates Notice letter dated September 28th that contained guidelines for the General Election.
Records show that Maria Delgado voted on November 4th.
A November 8th Newsday article by Deborah Morris interviewed 83 year old Maria Delgado outside her home who claimed – through her daughter who translated – she had no idea she was a candidate, and that she was a long time Republican who began receiving letters from the Working Families Party about 6 months ago.
Three days later on November 11th, Suffolk County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia published the documents they received through a Freedom of Information Law request that contain Maria Delgado’s voter registration forms since 1984 when she first registered as a Democrat until 2016 when she registered for the Women’s Equality Party, then in 2020 she registered as a Democrat and then 2021 she registered as Working Families Party. Maria has voted in 31 General Elections and 12 Primary Elections where only candidates for her registered party were on the ballot – since 1992.
Objecting To Petitions
As per Suffolk County Board of Elections, any voter of the candidate’s party, or committee member can submit an objection to a Petition following these instructions. It appears that the Working Families Party members did not officially object.
All specific Candidate documents referenced are sourced from this public Suffolk County Republican Party website.
Contact your New York State Senator and Assemblyperson with any requests for election law or procedure reforms. Find out who your NYS Senator is HERE. Find out who your NYS Assemblyperson is HERE.
Huntington Matters does not endorse any candidates.
Photography by Dana E. Richter. Videography by June Margolin.
