The Truth About Rockland County

A bombshell lawsuit in New York has been allowed to proceed, alleging voter fraud committed through faulty election machines used across America in the 2024 presidential race. But what's the truth?

Welcome back to our crash course in the U.S. Constitution — everything you need to know to better debate those aunts and uncles of yours on Facebook, without the law school price or the weird professors. Each issue tackles a different big idea that’s shaped American life: free speech, due process, equal protection, search and seizure, etc. Expect real-world examples, understandable explanations, and the occasional lawyer joke (now you’ve been warned, so you can’t be upset). Whether you're a news junkie, a student, or just someone who wants to finally understand what “strict scrutiny” actually means, you’ll leave each issue a little smarter — and way more equipped to fight mistruths. The law was meant to be understood by the people. This series is here to prove it.

Today’s issue: The Truth About Rockland County

✅ NOTE: You’ve almost certainly heard the claims on social media and, more recently, in some of the smaller, traditional news outlets as well. The ongoing lawsuit in Rockland County has been allowed to proceed, alleging that the voting machines — the same ones used throughout many parts of the country — were given a software update prior to the election that was not granted review or approval. The result was a seemingly statistical anomaly in the New York county: an overwhelming number of ballots that selected Democratic down-ballot candidates (i.e. smaller roles) and no presidential vote, and a whole lot of ballots that voted Republican for president and Democrat for everything else. So what’s really going on here? And what does this lawsuit mean for America, election integrity, and the outcome of 2024?

Previous Issue: Florida to Use Soldiers As Immigration Judges — How Is This Legal? (available here)

Next Issue: Some Blue States Begin Unprecedented Nuclear Option: We’re Not Paying Federal Taxes — Can They Do That?

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NOTE TO PAID SUBSCRIBERS:

💡As always, paid subscribers can find the embedded audio voiceover below the “Part 1” header of this issue.

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ConLaw Lesson #51: The Truth About Rockland County

In the weeks following the 2024 presidential election, a small but significant legal challenge emerged out of Rockland County, New York. According to a lawsuit filed by SMART Legislation, Senate candidate Diane Sare, and several voters, there may have been serious irregularities in how ballots were counted — or not counted — in parts of the county.

And that lawsuit is now proceeding after being given the green light by the courts.

At the center of the case are claims that votes for Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates were cast but do not appear in the official results. In some precincts, voters say they supported the Democratic presidential nominee, yet the final count shows zero votes for her. The lawsuit also points to statistical anomalies, unusually high drop-off rates (votes that are different from president to down-ballot candidates based on parties), and concerns about a last-minute software update to voting machines that was implemented without state-level approval.

It’s a massive claim with crippling repercussions for American democracy. But is it valid? And even if it is, what would happen to the election results? And what if similar patterns found in swing states throughout the country are unwound in the same way?

The questions raised in Rockland could have country-shaking implications for how we conduct, oversee, and trust our elections — and potentially undercut elections in the first place, especially if the underlying claims are weaponized by those in power to change the system.

It feels a lot like 2020 in reverse, and that’s…not great for anyone. But it’s also imperative that we talk about it.

So today, let’s break down the truth about Rockland County: what the lawsuit is about, where the backing comes from, why it might be more than what meets the eye, and where the heck we go from here.

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Part 1: What’s the Lawsuit About?

(Full audio narration by me, as well as the full text, available for paid subscribers. These lessons take hours to put together, so we’d love to have you on the journey.)