TRUMP'S TRAP: Election Clerk Busted with Bag Full of Ballots Then Officials Find Something Worse.
TRUMP'S TRAP: Election Clerk Busted with Bag Full of Ballots Then Officials Find Something Worse.
New York School Clerk Allegedly Tore Up, Trashed Ballots to Help Preferred Candidate
What some conservative critics describe as the “thing” that Democrats claim “never happens” just happened. Reports indicate an internal investigation has concluded that a Long Island, N.Y., school district clerk improperly handled ballots during a board of education election, prompting officials to seek the results’ reversal and raising the possibility of criminal charges.
Media reports note that according to a 51-page petition filed by the Hempstead Union Free School District with the New York State Education Department, District Clerk April Keys allegedly removed official ballots from her office and provided absentee ballots to incumbent school board candidate Victor Pratt, who investigators allege discarded them.
Observers point out the district is asking state officials to invalidate the results of the May 19 trustee election, in which Pratt narrowly won another term.
Pratt, a third-term trustee and former president of the school board, also performs as a local DJ under the stage name “DJ Vic-Lover,” according to his public social media profiles.
“The Board of Education Trustee election must be overturned because widespread irregularities affected the outcome of the election and were so pervasive that they vitiated the electoral process,” the filing from the Hempstead school district’s attorneys said.
Reports indicate the petition, filed on June 15 and made public Thursday, asks New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa to invalidate the election results and order a new vote.
The district also requested that a replacement clerk oversee the election and that the New York Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau monitor the process, observers note.
The school district launched an internal investigation after officials identified what they described as significant irregularities in the election for the unpaid school board trustee positions, the New York Post reported.
According to the district’s investigation, Pratt won the election by 81 votes after receiving an unusually high share of absentee and early mail ballots.
Reports show investigators found that although Pratt finished third in votes cast on voting machines, he received 87% of absentee ballots and 55% of early mail ballots.
Other candidates, by comparison, each received fewer than 100 absentee and early mail votes combined, analysts point out.
Media reports note three days after the election, the district placed Keys on administrative leave.
Later that day, Superintendent Gary Rush entered her office and, according to the petition, discovered a large cafeteria-style trash can containing a tied garbage bag that investigators considered unusual and potentially relevant to the inquiry, the Post noted.
According to the district’s petition, Superintendent Gary Rush discovered what investigators identified as official 2026 election ballots inside the garbage bag.
The filing states that Rush immediately secured the clerk’s office and ordered the locks to be changed.
The petition further alleges that when investigators returned four days later, the garbage can had been removed.
District officials claim custodian Owen Peters discarded the bag in an outdoor dumpster while a locksmith was replacing the office locks, said the outlet.
According to the filing, Peters later directed investigators to the bag, which they found sitting in approximately one foot of standing water inside the dumpster, the Post reported.
According to the district’s petition, investigators recovered torn cast ballots for both Pratt and his leading challenger, Gwendolyn Jackson, along with shredded early mail ballot applications containing voters’ names, addresses and signatures.
The filing also says investigators found unused ballots and election tally sheets mixed in with the discarded materials.
The petition further states that Jackson’s campaign coordinator, identified as Allah Supreme Mathematics, told investigators he delivered approximately 120 completed early mail ballots to the district clerk’s office on election night.
However, the investigation found that only 79 of those ballots were ultimately counted, with no explanation provided for the missing 33 ballots, according to the filing.
According to the district’s petition, investigators also reviewed security footage that they say showed the custodian leaving Keys’ office carrying a bag containing ballots.
The filing further alleges that Keys instructed the custodian on how to avoid being caught while removing the materials.
According to the petition, surveillance footage from the night before the election allegedly shows Pratt arriving at the district clerk’s office carrying a manila folder.
Report: Trump Considers Australia-Style Fix for America’s Retirement System
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump told reporters last week that he was looking "very strongly" at Australia's retirement system, observers note most Americans probably shrugged and thought, "Great — another retirement plan."
Financial experts argue they shouldn't.
Supporters say if this idea becomes legislation, it could represent the biggest shift in American retirement policy since Social Security was signed into law in 1935. Pundits suggest not to be surprised if the Trump name is on the retirement account if it happens.
The important thing to understand, analysts note, is this main point: Trump isn't talking about copying Australia. He's talking about taking what works and making it "sharper" for America.
So what exactly is he trying to accomplish? Proponents of the reform argue our retirement system was built for an economy that barely exists anymore.
People used to work for one employer for 30 years, receive a pension, collect Social Security and retire. Social Security was built for people to claim it at 65 and live to about 70. Experts note that's gone. People are lucky if they work at the same company for five years, let alone 30, and pensions are nearly gone. And economists point out the savings rate in America is an abysmal 2.6%.
Today, Americans change jobs every few years. Millions work as freelancers, independent contractors, Uber drivers or for employers that don't even offer a 401(k).
Meanwhile, reports show too many workers have little or nothing saved for retirement. Observers say that's the backdrop for Trump's comments.
Australia requires employers to contribute a percentage of an employee's wages into an individual retirement account known as a "Super." The worker owns the account. The investments stay invested. The account follows the employee from job to job.
The result? Australia has built one of the world's largest retirement savings pools relative to the size of its population. There is a constant flow of capital into the markets. Reports indicate Trump likes that thought.
Supporters argue that isn't an accident. It's the result of automatic, long-term investing.
Financial analysts suggest that if advising the administration, they wouldn't simply copy Australia. They'd build an American version around three principles.
First, keep Social Security as the foundation. Second, create a portable retirement account that belongs to the worker, not the employer. Third, require or strongly encourage automatic retirement contributions into privately managed investment accounts.
Instead of relying almost entirely on future government benefits, Americans would retire with assets they actually own. Proponents call that the three-legged stool of retirement. That is a fundamentally different philosophy.
Advocates say this isn't just about retirement. It's about ownership. Economists note America faces three long-term challenges simultaneously:
Social Security's long-term financing pressures. Will we really run out of money in 2034?
A retirement savings gap that leaves millions financially vulnerable.
An economy increasingly built around workers who don't fit neatly into traditional employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Supporters argue an Australia-style system attempts to address all three.
Rather than expanding government retirement programs, it encourages Americans to accumulate private wealth through decades of investing in the capital markets. Proponents describe that as a distinctly pro-market approach.
However, critics note mandatory employer contributions aren't free. Businesses ultimately pay those costs.
Opponents argue that a mandatory employer contribution effectively functions like a hidden payroll tax because employers will eventually recover those costs through slower wage growth, reduced hiring, higher prices or lower profits.
Analysts say that's a legitimate concern, particularly for small businesses already operating on thin margins. If Washington simply mandates a 12% employer contribution overnight, as Australia has, critics warn it could create real economic disruption.
Policy experts suggest that if the administration wants bipartisan support, it should avoid a one-size-fits-all mandate. They propose here's one way to install this massive change:
Phase in employer contributions gradually over several years. Start at 1% and gradually grow that number.
Offer meaningful tax credits for small businesses.
Allow limited access to retirement funds for major life events, like purchasing a first home.
Coordinate the system with the new Trump Accounts so every American begins adulthood with investment assets already working for them.
Keep investment management private rather than creating another government-controlled investment fund.
Supporters say that would preserve market competition while dramatically increasing retirement participation.
Economists note America has done an excellent job creating opportunities to save, but hasn't done a very good job making sure people actually do it.
Behavioral economics tells us something simple about psychology, and that is automatic saving works. But skeptics argue we also shouldn't ignore the cost to employers or pretend mandatory contributions come without tradeoffs.
Advocates believe the smartest version of this policy isn't Australia. It's an American system that expands ownership without crushing small businesses.
If done correctly, proponents say this wouldn't just change retirement. It would change who owns America's future.
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Instead of producing another generation dependent primarily on government checks, supporters envision we could produce millions more Americans who retire owning meaningful stakes in the companies, markets and economy they spent a lifetime helping build.
For supporters, that's not just retirement reform. That's what they call an ownership revolution.
