Date of Release or Mention: Monday, May 23, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sally Robinson, VP of Issues and Advocacy
May 19, 2022 E: sally.s.robinson@gmail.com, Tel: 914-441-5144
League of Women Voters of New York State Files Federal Lawsuit to Postpone New York Statewide Primaries to August 23, 2022, Aligning it with the State Senate and Congressional Primaries
The League of Women Voters of New York State filed a lawsuit yesterday in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York asking that the Court postpone the June 28 primary for statewide offices to August 23. The complaint states that the New York State Board of Elections unlawfully certified the primary ballot for statewide offices because it relied on an invalidated Congressional map for qualifying petitions. The lawsuit alleges that the Board’s actions violate New York voters’ freedom of association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Laura Ladd Bierman, Executive Director of the League, stated: “The State Board of Elections, apparently with the support of the leaders of both major political parties, put in place a deliberately exclusionary electoral regime for statewide offices designed to limit further competition in the primary and from independent candidates in the general election. Our suit requests the Court to order the postponement of the statewide primary from June 28 to August 23, 2022 – the same date as State Senate and Congressional primaries — and extend the deadline for gathering signatures for both the party primaries and independent candidates seeking to qualify for the general election.”
The League of Women Voters of New York State, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. See Complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at https://lwvny.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Complaint.pdf and related Memorandum of Law at https://lwvny.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Memorandum-of-Law.pdf
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ATTACHMENTS:
League Files Federal Lawsuit to Postpone NYS Primaries
Memorandum of Law
Complaint
