A Federal Judge in Manhattan has Ordered some Disputed Ballots be Counted in New York's hotly Contested House 12th District Democratic Primary Race between Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Incumbent, and Challenger Suraj Patel, that remains Uncalled nearly Six weeks after the Primary Election.
Judge, Analisa Torres, ruled late, Monday August 3rd, that the New York State Board of Elections must "direct all local boards of elections to count all otherwise valid absentee ballots cast in the June 23rd Primary which were:
(1) Received by June 24th, 2020, without regard to whether such Ballots are Postmarked by June 23rd, 2020.
(2) Received by June 25th, 2020, so long as such Ballots are Not Postmarked later than June 23rd, 2020.
Patel, along with other New York Voters, filed a Lawsuit against the New York State Board of Elections, asking that Absentee Ballots that had been Invalidated be Counted in the New York 12th District Primary Race. The Plaintiffs argued that the Absentee Ballots they Submitted should Not have been Invalidated.
In a Statement, Patel said, as Americans, "every one of us should be concerned about a process that invalidated over 1 in 5 mail-in ballots in New York's 12th Congressional District. We stand on the side of the voters. This is not a Democratic versus Republican fight, and it is also not an establishment versus progressive fight. This is now a fight to protect the voting rights of millions of Americans in the midst of a global pandemic."
Patel, Maloney, and many Others have Expressed concern about how Many Absentee Ballots were Rejected in the New York Races. But Rejections occurred for Other Reasons besides Missing Postmarks:
- Mismatched Signatures between: Voter Roll, Ballot Request, and Ballot Returned.
- In New York, Ballot Envelopes Sealed with any type of Tape.
Maloney, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, issued a Statement saying she Won the Democratic June 23rd Primary by about 3,700 Votes after Absentee Ballots were Counted.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
