A yr after Donald Trump was sworn in for his second time period, a authorized battle in a quiet New York county is reviving questions concerning the 2024 presidential election—this time, from the opposite facet of the political aisle.A lawsuit filed in Rockland County, New York, by authorized advocacy group SMART Laws, has been admitted by the county’s Supreme Court docket. The case claims that a whole bunch of votes—significantly for Kamala Harris—weren’t counted by voting machines throughout the 2024 election. With the following listening to scheduled for September 22, 2025, the lawsuit might result in a full hand recount and doubtlessly ignite adjustments in how US elections are run, despite the fact that Trump’s victory stays untouched.
What precisely is the lawsuit about?
The petition alleges that 5 voting machines in Ramapo, a city in Rockland County, recorded zero votes for president—whilst the identical ballots mirrored votes in races for Congress and the Senate. A number of voters and ballot staff have submitted sworn affidavits, stating they voted for Harris, solely to later uncover their votes hadn’t registered within the last rely.The group behind the case, SMART Laws (linked to election watchdog SMART Elections), argues that this isn’t a clerical error however a systemic failure that undermines voter belief.
Why Rockland County, and why now?
Whereas the 2024 election is lengthy licensed and Trump is in workplace, Rockland has emerged as an uncommon knowledge level. Consultants level out that it’s extremely inconceivable—statistically and procedurally—for voting machines to register votes in down-ballot races however present clean presidential fields.Much more regarding is the declare that the machines had been up to date weeks earlier than the election utilizing software program reviewed by non-public vendor Professional V&V, with no public report of the adjustments. These undisclosed updates have triggered alarms amongst transparency advocates.
What’s the lawsuit asking for?
The plaintiffs need a full hand recount of the ballots from the machines in query. The courtroom has permitted full discovery, that means the petitioners can now subpoena machine logs, request inner communications, and name election officers to testify underneath oath.Authorized analysts say that whereas the result gained’t overturn Trump’s presidency, it might make clear election system vulnerabilities and set precedent for future authorized challenges.
Might this transformation the 2024 end result?
No. Donald Trump’s 2024 victory has been licensed, and even when a whole bunch of Harris votes had been missed in Rockland County, they wouldn’t tip the nationwide scale.Nevertheless, the broader implications are vital:If machine errors are confirmed, it might set off audits in different counties.There could possibly be state or federal strain to mandate new voting machine requirements.Lawmakers could be compelled to rethink electronic-only ballots and restore hand-marked methods.
Why are consultants paying consideration?
Election safety knowledgeable Susan Greenhalgh has flagged the Rockland anomalies as “deeply suspicious,” particularly the sample of clean presidential columns amid legitimate votes elsewhere on the identical ballots. In keeping with her, such occurrences are nearly remarkable and level to both technical malfunction or misconfiguration.The truth that the machines in query acquired last-minute software program tweaks behind closed doorways solely amplifies the issues.
What might occur subsequent?
With the courtroom permitting the lawsuit to proceed:A hand recount in Ramapo will evaluate paper ballots to machine tallies.The invention course of could reveal how the machines had been programmed and whether or not updates affected vote integrity.Relying on what’s uncovered, the case might result in coverage adjustments, both via laws or state-level directives on election methods.
The bigger takeaway
This case isn’t about reversing the results of the 2024 election—however about safeguarding the following one. For Democrats, it’s a second to reclaim the election integrity debate. For election directors, it’s a reminder that transparency isn’t optionally available—even when it comes a yr too late.Because the September listening to approaches, Rockland County could turn into the unlikely floor zero of a bigger nationwide dialog: how does America make sure that each vote—whether or not forged for Trump or Harris—is definitely counted?
