An emergency action lawsuit was filed by Election Justice USA, a national voting rights organization at the New York Federal District Court. Allegations of voter suppression against the New York Board of Elections was the center of the complaint.
According to Truthdig, this election season has been full of accusations of election fraud which brings out the questions of the effectiveness of closed primaries. If the allegations against the Board of Elections are true, then it will disqualify hundreds of voters on the crucial primary.
Right after verifying their voter registration, eligible New York voters found out that that the state's voter registration system has made them ineligible to vote. An emergency action was then made by the Election Justice USA to put order on the said incident as per the Examiner.
Some New York residents also found out that their party listings have been changed or altered. Other voters were not even listed as an affiliate to any party. These precedent has made voters frustrated, angry and helpless.
As reported by the New York Daily News, spokeswoman Shyla Nelson of the Election Justice USA said if only the primary were open then this would not be an issue to the thousands of registered voters. She added that by making the primary open, it will eliminate the most difficult problems that New Yorkers have experienced.
The lawsuit that was filed aims to seek the eligibility of the Board of Elections. The attorney for the organization, Blaire Fellows, said that in the current system, the burden of proving eligibility is on the shoulders of the voters. It takes time out of the people of New York which means a loss of income just by simply taking time to vote.
Cliff Arnebeck, an Ohio attorney believes that the integrity of the elections process is very vital to democracy. Arnebeck said that the lawsuit will help ensure that the eligible voters will be able to vote in New York's primary. He added that the lawsuit will also raise the right questions of responsibility and accountability regarding the process of the elections.
