State of New York

New York Statewide Primary Elections Challenge

League of Women Voters of New York State v. Kosinski

Lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of the League of Women Voters of New York State and two voters against officials of the New York State Board of Elections arguing that statewide primary elections must be delayed in order to comply with the state and federal law. Statewide elected candidates (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller) must qualify for the ballot by obtaining voter signatures, half of which must come from congressional districts “as they are configured on the date of the primary and general elections” to meet residency requirements. The complaint alleges that, since the congressional districts from which the signatures came from are no longer in place after being struck down in Harkenrider v. Hochul, the board of elections illegally certified primary ballots for the statewide races and there are no qualified candidates. The plaintiffs ask the court to postpone the primary elections for statewide offices from June 28 to Aug. 23 (the new primary for congressional and state Senate districts) and order statewide candidates to submit new designating petitions based on the to-be-enacted congressional map in order to qualify for the ballot. A preliminary injunction hearing was held on May 25, after which the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion. This means that statewide primary elections will currently be held as planned on June 28. The plaintiffs appealed this denial to the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals, which they subsequently withdrew. On Feb. 21, 2023 the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their complaint.

Case Documents (District court)

Case Documents (2nd Circuit)

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