A federal judge has ordered the New York State Board of Elections to hold the Democratic presidential primary next month. The decision issued late on Tuesday—which the state has vowed to appeal—reverses a move the board made last week to cancel the June 23rd contest, and adds another twist to an ever-changing election season upended by the COVID19 pandemic.
The ruling was met with immediate praise by Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate - and 2021 mayoral wild card - who filed the case along with supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders just 24 hours after the State Board of Elections voted all the candidates but former Vice President Joe Biden off the ballot.
Attorneys for Yang and delegates removed from the ballot argued that the State Board of Elections was violating their constitutional rights and sought an immediate injunction to reverse the board’s decision, reinstating the primary.
In issuing her decision, District Judge Analisa Torres found the state’s move caused immediate harm both by depriving presidential candidates the chance to garner votes for the Democratic Party’s nomination and preventing delegates from running for a position to influence the party’s platform and eventual nominee’s position at the Convention later this summer. She also found the move would deprive Democratic voters from the opportunity to elect delegates who could represent their point of view at that forum.
Listen to Brigid Bergin discuss the decision on All Things Considered:
Torres issued her ruling one day after holding a contentious and often technically challenged conference call with lawyers for the plaintiffs and defendants, which was also open to the public. The purpose of the hearing was for the parties to make oral arguments. But Torres began the preceding by asking a series of questions, starting with a focus on what role delegates play at the convention.
Under the state Democratic party’s rules, delegates are awarded to a presidential candidate if the person receives at least 15 percent of the vote in a congressional district, and 15 percent of the vote statewide. Torres pressed the attorneys on Monday to explain how they could know which candidates would win that level of support.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conrad, who was representing the state board in the matter, noted that representatives of both former Vice President Joe Biden and the Sanders campaign had agreed to rules to allow the Sanders campaign to keep hundreds of the delegates he had already won at the convention.
But attorney Arthur Schwartz, who was representing delegates removed from the ballot, noted that the agreement would not apply in New York since Sanders had been removed from the ballot before the primary contest could award those delegates.
Ultimately the decision by Judge Torres returns all ten qualifying candidates and their respective slates of pledged delegates to the primary ballot next month and will require localities across the state to conduct the primary contest.
Officials at the State Board of Elections have cited the public health risk from COVID-19 posed to staff and the voting public as part of their rationale for canceling the presidential primary contest. Twenty counties in the state, and portions of others, would have no race on the ballot next month except for the presidential primary.
While Governor Cuomo issued an executive order last month that allows all voters to use an absentee ballot in the upcoming election, local Board of Elections offices will still need to make poll sites available for early voting and primary day voting for people who can not use an absentee ballot because they failed to apply for one or because they need assistance at the polls.
This decision further complicates an election season that’s seen repeated date changes and shifting candidate slates going back to the Governor’s pause executive order in March. Local BOE offices are still responsible for printing, mailing, and processing ballots, with a looming deadline to mail military and overseas ballots later this month.
Despite the judge’s order, State Board officials are not ready to concede.
“We are reviewing the decision and preparing an appeal,” Douglas Kellner, State Board of Elections Democratic co-chair, told Gothamist/WNYC late Tuesday. He said the state attorney general’s office, which represented the board in the matter, will file the appeal.
