A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against the New York Board of Elections’ decision to cancel the state’s Democratic primary election and ordered the state to hold the election next month as planned.
The preliminary injunction from Manhattan Federal Court Judge Analisa Torres requires New York to reinstate Democratic candidates on the ballot who were “duly qualified” as of April 26 and hold the election on June 23.
Democratic commissioners of the state Board of Elections canceled the primary election last week, arguing that all candidates had dropped out except former vice president Joe Biden.
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang quickly sued over the decision, saying the move “denies voters the right to vote” and prevents former 2020 candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders from picking up delegates.
“They will be deprived of the right to cast a vote for an otherwise qualified candidate and the political views expressed by that candidate,” the judge wrote.
Torres’s decision puts Yang and Sanders back on the ballot along with eight other former contenders for the Democratic nomination.
“I’m glad that a federal judge agreed that depriving millions of New Yorkers of the right to vote was wrong,” Yang said of the decision. “I hope that the New York Board of Elections takes from this ruling a newfound appreciation of their role in safeguarding our democracy.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo had postponed the primary, which was originally scheduled for April 28, over concerns about spreading the coronavirus. The board took that decision further in canceling the election altogether.
Sanders’s campaign manager Faiz Shakir on Tuesday also praised the judge’s ruling, saying it has “restored basic democracy” in the state.
“People in every state should have the right to express their preference in the 2020 Democratic primary,” Shakir said. “We have confidence that New York can hold elections in June in a safe manner that preserves New Yorkers’ right to vote.”
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