Mark Cardwell files 16 residency challenges in Pelham Manor

Detectives from the Pelham Manor Police Department visited the homes of 16 local voters on Friday, October 23. The visits occurred 11 days before Election Day. The officers were sent there to verify the residential status of the residents.

The investigation was triggered by filings made to the Westchester County Board of Elections. Official records obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request show that all 16 challenge affidavits were submitted by one person: Mark Cardwell. Cardwell is a Democrat who ran for Pelham Manor Mayor in 2025 and for Trustee in March 2024. In both races, he lost.

Cardwell signed the documents under oath, citing his own personal knowledge as the basis for the challenges. Interviews with several of the targeted voters indicate they have never met or spoken to Cardwell. None of the 16 individuals identified in the filings are registered Democrats.

New York Election Law Section 5-702 governs this process. When a voter submits a post-registration challenge affidavit, the Board of Elections must prepare voter check cards. The board is then required to send those cards to the local police department. Officers have five days to conduct the investigation. The Pelham Manor detectives performed the checks as part of their statutory duties.

The legal standard for residency is defined in New York Election Law Section 1-104(22). State judicial precedent, including Ferguson v. McNab from 1983 and Willkie v. Delaware County Board of Elections from 2008, allows voters to maintain dual residences. A person may choose where to register if they have legitimate, significant, and continuing attachments to that location. Physical daily presence is distinct from permanent legal domicile.

Steven Shekane, a Pelham Manor resident, criticized the use of police resources for this task. He noted that Cardwell claimed during his mayoral campaign that the village had stubborn safety problems and chaotic streets. Shekane argued that diverting highly compensated detectives to knock on doors for a partisan filing pulled them from primary public safety duties.

This is not the first time residents have faced pre-election scrutiny. In October 2024, armed officers from the Westchester County District Attorney’s office visited homes to investigate absentee ballots from the March 2024 village election. Siting Trustees Tim Case and Breda Bennett were among those visited. In that instance, none of the targeted individuals were registered Democrats.

During the 2024 Board of Education election, absentee ballot challenges were filed by Katherine Pringle, Melissa Labonte, and Town Councilwoman Maura Curtin. They submitted screenshots of residents' LinkedIn and Facebook pages. They also cited handwriting discrepancies. One filer included Brad Case’s minor league baseball statistics to argue he was not a resident. Most challenged ballots in that cycle belonged to non-Democrats.

The Pelham Manor population is approximately 5,500 people. The current election is scheduled for November. The next major holiday following the election is Veterans Day, which falls on November 11.

The 16 residents currently face verification of their living arrangements. The police department has completed the dispatch phase of the investigation as required by state law.