A federal judge has ordered the New York Democratic primary to occur after it was canceled late last month.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was among a group of delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, and he filed a lawsuit after the primary was canceled following every candidate but former Vice President Joe Biden suspending their campaigns. However, the plaintiffs argued that the move infringed on resident’s “right to choose our next candidate for the office of President of the United States.”
Judge Analisa Torres issued a ruling Tuesday night in favor of Yang, who sought to win delegates in the primary despite having suspended his campaign, according to Politico.
“The Court concludes that Plaintiffs and Plaintiff-Intervenors have shown a clear and substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the Democratic Commissioners’ April 27 Resolution removing Yang, Sanders, and eight other Democratic presidential candidates from the ballot deprived them of associational rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution,” the judge wrote in her decision.
The judge also disagreed with the notion that the primary, which had already been delayed from April to June, had to be canceled over coronavirus concerns.
“[T]hough all states are impacted by the current public health crisis, and some have rescheduled their presidential primary elections in light of COVID-19, New York is the only one to have canceled its primary, casting further doubt on Defendants’ contention that scrapping the primary is necessary to combat the risk posed by the virus,” she wrote.
The New York Board of Elections voted last week to remove Bernie Sanders from the primary’s ballot, which effectively sealed the contest for Biden. However, the independent senator from Vermont wanted to continue to amass nominating delegates to the Democratic National Convention in order to exert influence over the party’s platform and rules.
