| NY Board of Elections Was
Sued Over Ballots Without Postmarks But
Injunction Not Expanded
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Order
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 23 – The last election in
New York has been sued, for
the disqualification of
absentee ballots. And on
August 3, a partial
preliminary injunction was
granted requiring more ballots
to be counted.
On July 29,
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Analisa Torres held the
first of two days of
evidentiary hearings; here was
the end, live tweeted by Inner
City Press' @SDNYLIVE feed, here:
(from the 2d day is below).
Now on
October 23, Judge Torres has
ruled that With the November
3, 2020 general election (the
“General Election”)
approaching, Plaintiffs now
move to expand the scope and
breadth of the August 3 Order.
Plaintiffs ask the Court to:
(1) extend the order to cover
all upcoming elections; (2)
direct the NYSBOE to require
Local Boards to send out
absentee ballot applications
and ballots promptly upon
request; and (3) direct the
NYSBOE to require Local Boards
to count all otherwise valid
absentee ballots without
regard to whether they are
postmarked. Alternatively,
Plaintiffs request that the
Court order the NYSBOE to
require Local Boards to
provide voters a pre-rejection
notice for absentee ballots
with a late or missing
postmark, and an opportunity
to cure the defect by
affidavit. In addition,
Plaintiffs seek leave to file
a second amended complaint
adding Alessandra Biaggi as a
plaintiff. For the reasons
stated below, Plaintiffs’
request to file a second
amended complaint is GRANTED.
The motion to expand the
injunction is DENIED." Full
order on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud
here.
From July 29: the
BOE "head of canvas" in
Brooklyn has parked his car
and logged on - to
testify. Board of
Elections witness: We got a
lot of ballots a week
before... Judge Torres:
Was there a process of postmen
giving ballots to individual
staff members?? Witness: Not
normally. Judge Torres:
Segregated by day? Witness:
Initially when it
arrives.
Law Dep't lawyer:
You only reviewed postmark on
ballots arriving after June
23? Witness: Yes. They are
transferred to our voting
machine. Law Dept: How are
they transported? Witness: A
bi-partisan team.
Law Dept: Can
campaigns get information
about the absentee ballots?
Witness: They can have a
watcher who has the ability to
object to validity. Judge
Torres: Hold on for a
moment.
NY Board of
Elections witness: We had an
incident in 2018 when a bunch
of ballots were delivered late
to office. [A beat]. Five
months late.
Today done -
tomorrow a Postal Service
witness.
Judge Analisa
Torres tells Law Department
lawyer to order transcript. He
says given City's financial
condition, no transcripts
unless urgent.
Judge Torres: Go
to Mr. Johnson. This is
Constitutional. I'm ordering
it
On July 30,
there was USPS witness
Allen Tanko. Inner City Press
tweeted:
Witness deals
with Manhattan and The Bronx.
Says the other district covers
"Staten Island, Brooklyn &
Flushing." Flushing only? He
says he doesn't know
The USPS witness
says there was a "post mortem"
meeting with the Board of
Election, "about what we could
tighten up." Yeah - how about
postmarking pre-paid envelopes
/ ballots?
USPS
witness: the ballots /
business reply mail were run
through Tremont Station in The
Bronx, and in Manhattan at
Bowling Green and Village
stations.
Judge Torres:
What's BRM? Witness: Business
Reply Mail. No postage on it.
On August 3,
Judge Torres ruled including
"Plaintiff Emily Gallagher
aspires to be the Democratic
Party’s candidate for the
State Assembly in New York’s
50th Assembly District.
Plaintiff Suraj Patel is
running to be the Democratic
candidate for the House of
Representatives in the 12th
Congressional District. the
preliminary injunction is
GRANTED as follows: the
Commissioners of the NYSBOE
are ORDERED to direct all
local boards of elections to
count all otherwise valid
absentee ballots cast in the
June 23 Primary which were (1)
received by June 24, 2020,
without regard to whether such
ballots are postmarked by June
23, 2020 and (2) received by
June 25, 2020, so long as such
ballots are not postmarked
later than June 23, 2020."
The case is
Gallagher et al. v. N.Y. State
Bd. of Elections et al.,
20-cv-5504 (Torres)
***
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