Democratic socialist, immigrant rights attorney and Assembly District 38 candidate David Orkin alleges in a lawsuit that the campaign of incumbent Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) forged petition signatures in an effort to secure her a spot on the ballot in June.
The suit, filed in Queens State Supreme Court on April 16 and first reported by City & State, alleges that at least nine residents of the district had their signatures forged on Rajkumar’s petition, identified during a standard review by the Orkin campaign.
While Rajkumar’s campaign submitted more than 2,500 signatures, easily passing the 500 required to get on the ballot, Orkin’s lawsuit called into question the credibility of seven individuals who claimed to witness more than 70 percent of the purported signatures.
“Upon information and belief, the Designating Petition likely contains additional forgeries purportedly witnessed by additional subscribing witnesses,” the lawsuit states.
One of the signatures in question is that of Cary Tilton, a Democratic Socialists of America member and Orkin campaign volunteer.
“You can imagine my shock and anger when I saw my own name on a Rajkumar petition sheet with a fraudulent signature,” Tilton said in a statement. “Signing this petition would fly in the face of every action and decision I’ve made in years and is an impossibility.”
Additional neighbors had their names appear multiple times on the petition sheets, Orkin’s campaign alleges, signatures they said they confirmed are fake.
The Orkin campaign said it uncovered “a disturbing pattern of fraud,” including multiple entries for voters who confirmed not to have signed the petitions; signatures that do not match voter registration records; whole petition pages with similar, illegible signatures; and entries with nonexistent addresses.
“Running for office is a privilege; one that I do not take lightly,” Orkin said in a statement. “Our volunteer-led petitioning efforts connected our campaign directly with hundreds of residents in District 38 looking for a candidate who will stand up to corruption and fight for a more affordable city.
“We look forward to a swift and transparent review by the Board of Elections and Queens Supreme Court to ensure that election rules are applied fairly and that the voices of Queens’ voters are protected.”
Rajkumar responded to the allegations in her own court filing, also on April 16, in which she said her “petition is in all respects valid and in due and proper form.”
In a video posted to social media on Sunday, Rajkumar said the DSA is running a “hate campaign” against her, targeting her religion, questioning her qualifications as an attorney and now “manufacturing baseless accusations against my petitions.”
Rajkumar campaign spokesperson Arvind Sooknanan in a statement said, “Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s inspiring, tireless grassroots campaign crushed the DSA political machine, collecting nearly 1,000 more signatures than they did and six times the number legally required. DSA’s mudslinging is a desperate attempt to deflect from serious allegations by Latinos Against Socialism that its petitions are riddled with fraud. No counterattack can distract from those troubling claims.”
Latinos Against Socialism has called for investigations into the petitions of Orkin and Assemblymember Claire Valdez (D-Sunnyside), a DSA member who is running for Congress. No objections were filed to Orkin’s petition signatures at the city Board of Elections or in court, per City & State.
Sooknanan called Orkin’s lawsuit a “blatant political stunt from a DSA-backed campaign that knows it cannot compete on the ground. You cannot litigate your way out of weak grassroots support.”
He added, “Team Jenifer looks forward to a resounding win at the ballot box.”
The court is expected to schedule a hearing and make a ruling by mid-May.