A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday invalidated the cancellation of the Democratic presidential primary in New York State, unilaterally decided by the electoral office, which could appeal.
Supported by the Democratic Party, the state election office had preferred to cancel the ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic but also because the Democratic primary was already played in favor of Joe Biden.
But one of the candidates, Andrew Yang, who had yet to throw in the towel as early as Feb. 11, had gone to federal court to challenge the cancellation, which he deemed arbitrary and inconsistent with democratic principles.
Joe Biden’s main competitor, Bernie Sanders, had called this cancellation a “scandal” and “a blow to American democracy”.
Although he too abandoned the race, on April 13, he asked his supporters to vote for him in the last Democratic primary to be able to influence the debate within the party and influence the program of Joe Biden.
In her decision, Judge Analisa Torres noted that New York was the only state among those most severely affected by the pandemic to have canceled its primary.
The magistrate also stressed that Democratic primaries were still scheduled that day in New York State, for the local and national legislative elections, which weakens the argument related to the pandemic.
Finally, she considered that there was “a significant public interest in allowing this primary to be held with all the candidates”.
All candidates registered for the Democratic primary in New York are therefore now allowed to participate, including Elizabeth Warren or Michael Bloomberg.
“The lawyers of the electoral office are studying the decision and the possibilities” open to them, including an appeal, the office said on Tuesday in a statement sent to AFP.
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