State’s Democratic presidential primary reinstated for June 23

NEW YORK STATE — Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an Executive Order earlier this spring to mandate that all registered voters receive a postage-paid application for an absentee ballot so they can still vote during the coronavirus pandemic.

At a press conference held on April 24, Cuomo acknowledged that while there have been elections held in midst of the pandemic, it made no sense that people should have to put their lives at risk and violate social distancing in order to vote. 

After issuing an Executive Order to allow all New Yorkers to vote via absentee ballots in the primaries on Tuesday, June 23, he announced that he was issuing an Executive Order to ensure every New York voter would automatically receive a postage-paid application to receive a ballot.

Agreeing wholeheartedly with Cuomo’s decision to mandate that the Dutchess County Board of Elections (DCBOE) send out absentee ballot applications to voters, DCBOE Commissioner Beth Soto said, “Our priority right now is the safety of our voters and our election workers.”

The New York State Board of Elections initially canceled the Democratic presidential primary on April 27 to protect voters and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet little did the board know the decision to cancel the presidential primary would create tension among voters, who would call for its reinstatement.

Those supporting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign were particularly upset with the decision. It was just around that time that Sanders decided to suspend his campaign, resulting in former Vice President Joe Biden stepping forward as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

In a court order filed against the New York State Board of Elections and its officials on Tuesday, May 5, Andrew Yang, a Democratic Party presidential candidate who also suspended his campaign, and seven of his pledged delegates, alleged that their constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments were violated when “their names were removed from the New York Democratic presidential primary ballot and the primary was canceled.” 

According to the order, the plaintiffs moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from canceling the 2020 Democratic primary and directing the “reinstate[ment]” of “all duly qualified candidates.”

The court order stated that “there’s a strong public interest in permitting the presidential primary to proceed with the full roster of candidates.”

A preliminary injunction was granted and the state Board of Elections was ordered to reinstate the Democratic presidential primary for Tuesday, June 23. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit officially ruled on the matter on Tuesday, May 19, ruling that the presidential primary may proceed with its June 23 date.

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