Moses won Babylon’s land by rigged voting logistics and busing in employees

Evidence

As they strolled to the polls, they suddenly noticed cars bearing state shields and crammed with men racing through the streets of the quiet village. They were Park Commission and DPW vehicles carrying employees to vote. Undoubtedly, many of these employees were—under the suddenly relaxed eligibility ruling—eligible to vote. But opponents at the polls said that they recognized many as men who did not have even apartments in the town and were therefore ineligible. When, however, election inspectors tried to check their names against the list of eligible voters in the election registers with which election inspectors were customarily provided, they found that somehow the Town Board had neglected to provide registers this time, and the inspectors were unable to deny the state employees the right to vote. … In addition, many potential “no” voters—one estimate said two hundred—were confused by the fact that the polls remained open until nine; they showed up after six, only to be told that while they could vote in the primary, voting in the referendum had been closed. The final tally showed that “Babylon Town” had ceded its portion of Jones Beach to the state by seven votes. Wrote Cooper: “The verdict was nothing short of a crime and the method by which it was obtained is scandalous.” Moses issued a statement, too. He called the referendum results “a vote of confidence in the Park Commission.” — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 1045

Categorization

• XREF: Pairs with the noted injustice around Babylon losing its ‘sacred birthright’ through negligence; a further parallel is his later career-extending use of procedural gaming already shown in ch13. — connects to: The State Constitution barred towns from ceding land without a referendum — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 1032; Nassau machine politicians betrayed their own ally to strike a compromise with Smith — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 928; Moses rigged the Parks Council votes with dummy commissions he controlled — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 1089
• SHARE: For a political-history friend: a referendum stolen by seven votes thanks to a missing voter roll, closable polls, and bused-in state workers — an early 20th-century case study in ratfucking.

Broader Connections

• Moses rigged the Parks Council votes with dummy commissions he controlled #corroborates (0.82) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 1089