| Andrew Yang Court Case to
Reinstate June 23 Primary Draws NYS Dire
Warnings in SDNY
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 4 – The New York
State Board of Elections
decided to cancel the
Democratic Party presidential
primary election that had been
moved back to June 23 due to
the Coronavirus pandemic. Then
Andrew Yang and others
sued.
In Yang et
al v. NYS Board of Elections,
on May 4 there was a hearing
before U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Analisa Torres, and Inner City
Press covered it.
The
plaintiffs pointed out that
the delegates that would have
been selected in primary
"help shape the party's
platform... I know you are an
astute reader of the news, but
there are significant
differences between Senator
Sanders and Vice President
Biden, on health care, the
Green New Deal and other
issues. So it makes a
difference who the delegates
are."
Judge Torres asked, As to Mr
Yang, given that he suspended
his campaign, what interest
does he have?
His lawyer replied, As a
citizen and voter - he wants
to cast his vote. He did not
ask to be taken off the
ballot. Mr. Yang is doing this
for his supporters.
Judge Torres then asked, How
will down-ballot elections be
impacted? One of
the plaintiffs' lawyer
replied, Less interest. They
could vote by mail, but won't
due to less interest.
Judge Torres noted, Other
states which have the COVID-19
pandemic have not cancelled
their elections.
New
York State BOE's lawyer said,
We've been hit harder than
anywhere else.
One
of the plaintiffs' lawyers
said, If they are holding June
election anyway, they save
nothing by canceling
presidential primary.
Judge Torres asked, Is it true
that elections will go forward
in the most densely populated
counties?
Arthur Z. Schwartz replied,
Yes - in counties where 75% of
New Yorkers live. Everyone,
any candidates, wants to be
the next AOC. And there are
Bernie supporters in every
district.
The
NYS BOE lawyer said, The
presidential primary canceled
itself - they stopped
contesting it. He said, Please
stop cutting me
off. One of the
plaintiffs' lawyer asked
rhetorically, Is this the
least restrictive alternative,
under strict scrutiny? No.
Another lawyer said, Whether
an election is contested is
not for the Board of Elections
to decide. Mr Yang deserves to
have his name on the ballot.
He cited an old Chicago case
about Harold Washington's
party - saying that he had a
right to be on the ballot,
that removal is a severe
burden so strict scrutiny
applied. (He said this SDNY
case likely to be appealed to
2d Circuit).
Plaintiffs' lawyer said,
Kansas just voted 100% vote by
mail. NYS could do it, or
postpone to July to see where
we are. Instead, a secret
meeting, an illegal result.
Plaintiffs lawyer says their
complaint were responded to be
lyrics from Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young and not legal
argument.
The
NYS lawyer raised the stakes,
saying that if Judge Torres
rules for Yang, she will put
election workers at risk. If
they say they are no longer
seeking the nomination, they
can't really say they are
burdened by being removed from
the ballot. And the delegates'
rights are derivative. "The
parties don't even have to
hold a primary if they don't
want." I don't think I have to
talk about how horrible
COVID-19 has been to NYS. So
this holds up against any
standard of review.
Anyway, they have endorsed the
only remaining candidate.
The
NYS lawyer ended with this:
The plaintiffs are asking you
to risk the lives of everyone
involved.
Judge Torres concluded, I
don't have any additional
questions. I will be issuing
my decision in due course. I
wish everyone good health.
Goodbye. The case is Yang, et
al., v. NYS Board of
Elections, 20-cv-3325
(Torres).
***
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