By: Daniel Friedman

Bob Frankl, the former longtime mayor of Wesley Hills, and one of the founders of the Preserve Ramapo organization, apparently voted illegally in the September 15th primary election. Frankl, who retired from his position, moved out of Wesley Hills in August and settled in Garnerville, outside of the town of Ramapo. About a month later, however, Frankl apparently returned to Ramapo to cast his vote in the September 15th Democratic Primary.

The Democratic primary, which featured incumbent Ramapo Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence, and his Preserve Ramapo opponent, Bruce Levine, was a landslide victory for Supervisor St. Lawrence. Frankl’s position in Preserve Ramapo can lead everyone to speculate with a fair degree of certainty that Frankl came to Ramapo and cast his vote illegally for Bruce Levine.

An independent review by Reserve Ramapo uncovered a confirmation from the Rockland County Board of Elections that Frankl voted in the primary, even though he was not eligible to. Once a voter surrenders their residency in one locale and moves to another, they surrender their right to vote in their locale with that. Frankl, a longtime elected official, is aware of this law, which poses even further questions.

The consequences of voting in an area where one no longer lives in is unclear, and as this story continues to unfold, more will be known about the fallout of Frankl’s actions.