ALBANY — The decision to shut down the city's largest polling site just a month before the Democratic primary for mayor has rankled some political officials.

Albany County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Rachel Bledi said in June that officials at the Parish of Mater Christi wrote to county officials saying they no longer wanted their Mater Christi School on Hurst Avenue to be used as a polling site because of safety concerns for students.

“Obviously, there’s nothing to argue when it comes to that sort of complaint,” she told the Times Union this week. Also, “We did think (the school) was small and that voters would benefit from a larger facility, space and parking lot.”

Close to 2,400 people were assigned to vote at the Catholic school, with 1,790 registered as Democrats, Bledi said. The new locations – Bethany Reformed Church at 760 New Scotland Ave. and B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation at 420 Whitehall Road – will provide ample parking and shorter wait times, Bledi said.

The city’s 8th Ward Committee leader Craig Waltz says he wasn’t notified of the complaint until late July, and believes officials could have softened the issue without changing the polling site so close to the Sept. 12 election.

“If they had informed us right away, I could have gone and met with the pastor and people at the school and listened to their concerns, and probably resolved this before anyone chose to expend county money to find a new polling place,” Waltz said.

Other political officials fear the late change in the polling location could disenfranchise voters. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s campaign manager Steve Napier said it wouldn’t be an issue if the change had been made six months ago. Sheehan lives near the polling site.

“I think that voting should be made as easy as possible, and changing a location this late in the game is problematic,” Napier said.

Napier and Waltz said Mater Christi’s priest, the Rev. James Ebert, is fine with keeping the polling place at the school for this election cycle.

Ebert did not confirm whether he had approved keeping the polling site at the school for the upcoming election. "It's in the hands of the city now," he said.

In a separate email, he explained the parish's concerns. "This past year, we had issues with school dismissal and parking lot traffic which brought this safety concern to our attention," he said. "We are a very large and active parish and the parking lot gets very busy. School will be in session on the days of voting this year, and, if funerals were to happen at the same time, the area would become very hectic and potentially dangerous."

Waltz, however, said the location shift was driven by Matthew Clyne, the county's Democratic elections commissioner.

"The only one who seemingly doesn't want it there is Matt Clyne," Waltz said. "The fact is that it looks unprofessional and unethical."

Waltz said Clyne had told him the polling site wouldn’t be changed back to Mater Christi because it's now too close to the Sept. 12 primary. But Waltz insists the board has switched locations even closer to an election.

Clyne did not return calls for comment.

Waltz said a similar communications breakdown occurred during an earlier issue with Board of Elections employee Judd Krasher, who also is a city councilman running for re-election in Albany's 11th Ward. Waltz says initially Krasher assigned several new polling inspectors in the 8th Ward without notifying him.

Ultimately, requested changes by Waltz were made by county officials, Bledi said.

Krasher is an outspoken ally of Councilman Frank Commisso Jr., who is challenging Sheehan in the Democratic mayoral contest. Council President Carolyn McLaughlin also is running for mayor as a Democrat.

Waltz said he is also concerned that it was Krasher who handled the request from Mater Christi officials. Krasher said he didn’t have the authority to comment for this story.

“We’re looking for a diplomatic solution that lets voters vote where they need to, from a readily accessible standpoint and minimal confusion,” Waltz said. “We are willing to work with (election officials) them to get back to Mater Christi.”

After an initial version of this story was posted, Commisso contacted the Times Union to dispute what he said was an implication that he was somehow behind the polling site's move.

More Information Polling place changes in Albany: Albany's 8th Ward election district 4 and 9th Ward election district 9 will vote at B'nai Sholom Reform Congregation, located at 420 Whitehall Road.

Albany's 14th Ward election districts 1, 3 and 4 will vote at Bethany Reformed Church, located at 760 New Scotland Ave. For more information about polling sites across the city, visit the Albany County Board of Elections website. See More Collapse

In a subsequent email, he accused Sheehan of failing to protest what he described as "mass voter disenfranchisement at Mater Christi" during the February 2016 vote to approve Albany High School's $180 million renovation plan. The site experienced significant woes, including too few ballots, that caused chaos for many voters during that vote, which approved the plan.

"Regardless, I would be entirely supportive of maintaining Mater Christi as a poll site for this election," Commisso said.

Bledi said the elections board has been slowly moving away from using schools as polling sites, and moving the Albany site from Mater Christi School will be a permanent change. Officials will also send out additional mailers to notify voters of the change.

“Political expediency does not take precedence to student safety concerns, especially when the alternative plan is more accommodating,” she said. “Candidates can’t tout their advocacy for children and students in mailers and commercials while simultaneously ignoring a school’s desire to enforce greater security measures. You can’t have it both ways.”