ALBANY – If former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has designs on running for state attorney general, he might want to register to vote first.
Bharara was purged from the voter rolls effective Jan. 31, 2006, according to records provided to the Daily News by the state Board of Elections.
He never registered during his time as U.S. Attorney from 2009 to 2017, when he was fired by President Trump. Nor did he register after he left the job, according to records.
State Board of Elections spokeswoman Cheryl Couser said there is no provision in law to shield the names from the public of high-profile voters like a prosecutor.
“It’s the ultimate hypocrisy,” said Republican consultant O’Brien Murray. “He’s trying to tell us what to do and he won’t even register to vote. He didn’t vote in last year’s Westchester County executive race or the school board elections or on the school budgets.”
Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group, expressed surprise that Bharara is not registered.
“We urge all Americans and New Yorkers to vote, but whether or not he chooses to do it, it’s a free country,” Horner said.
Bharara could not be reached for comment.
Online records for the Maryland Board of Elections show that Bharara, while serving as counsel to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in D.C., registered to vote in 2006 as a Democrat while living in Bethesda.
But a source close to Bharara said upon taking over as Manhattan U.S. attorney, Bharara chose not to register in order to maintain an aura of impartiality and nonpartisanship.
Someone running for office in New York does not legally have to be registered to vote under the law, Couser said.
But if Bharara wants to run on the Democratic or another line, he should register for that party before petitioning for the opportunity to get on the ballot begins on June 5, Couser said.
He could also circulate nominating petitions to run as an independent, which would not require him to register, Couser said.
Or he could remain unregistered and seek what is known as a Wilson-Pakula authorization from a party that allows a candidate not enrolled in that party to run on the line.
He also has one other option — Reform Party Chairman Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and radio show host, said their executive committee on Thursday unanimously recommended Bharara be nominated for A.G. at the party’s convention on Sunday.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who was considering a run for attorney general, said Thursday he will seek re-election to the Senate and instead back city Public Advocate Letitia James for AG.
While saying he feels he’s right for the job, Gianaris told The News he believes in the current political climate there is a need for women in high positions of government and that he wants to focus on helping the Democrats claim control of the state Senate.
His decision was first reported by NY1.
