At least two dead voters had absentee ballots submitted under their names in a tightly contested GOP primary last month between two south Brooklyn City Council hopefuls — with the winner still up for grabs.
Both Juliet Windvan and Antoinette Garzaniti voted in the District 47 primary between Brooklyn Republican chairman Richie Barsamian and George Sarantopoulous — despite records showing both died over a decade ago — city Board of Elections documents exclusively obtained by The Post reveal.
A third voter, 87-year-old William Allen, also said that despite not casting a ballot in the primary, he had received a “cure notice,” which voters get when their ballots contain errors like a missing signature.
“These apparent facts really call for a district attorney investigation,” election lawyer Martin Connor said. “They need to find out how someone other than the voter was able to obtain and submit the absentee ballots.”
Sarantopoulous is currently leading Barsamian by a mere 32 votes, according to the Board of Elections’ latest unofficial tallies.
A recount is being held Tuesday.
Linda Smith, Garzaniti’s daughter, was completely dismayed when she learned of the bizarre circumstances, while confirming with The Post that her mother had passed away.
“That is amazing,” she said. “I find this unbelievable. Yes, we still got ballots for her. They were ripped up and thrown out.
“So I want to know, who is doing it?”
Attempts to reach Windvan’s family were unsuccessful, but Social Security records indicate that she died in 2007.
Justin Allen and his father, William, said they tore up the dad’s absentee ballot when it arrived in the mail because although he is a registered Republican, he usually votes Democratic.
“I think it’s terrible that somebody cast a ballot in my father’s name, especially in an election that was so close and that whoever committed fraud, would have been a fraud getting elected,” Justin Allen said.
Sarantopolous called the matter “shocking and concerning.”
Even so, voter fraud is still considered rare in the Big Apple and across the US, according to John Kaehny, executive director of watchdog group Reinvent Albany.
“It’s hard to get away with, and very easy to detect if done in a big enough way to affect an election,” Kaehny added. “That doesn’t stop various knuckleheads from trying.”
Councilman Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn Democrat who is term-limited out of the seat at year’s end, called for the matter to be immediately probed.
“You can’t make this up. Dead people voting and living voters calling my office to say someone cast a ballot in their name,” Brannan said in a statement. “And don’t forget the chair of the Republican Party, who appoints BOE workers, was on the ballot.
“This one really stinks of voter fraud and demands a full and swift investigation.”
Barsamian’s campaign and the Board of Elections did not respond to requests for comment.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office told The Post it could not comment on investigations.
