New York State's Presidential Primary results can be certified by the City and State Boards of Elections (BOE) without any interference from the courts, a Manhattan Judge ruled Monday.
State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron rejected a plea by a Manhattan attorney to rule that the State's “Closed Primary” system violates the State Constitution because independents can't vote at all and those who do participate must be enrolled in their respective Political Parties six months before the election.
Mark Warren Moody asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block the certification of the April 19 Primary results, but Engoron refused, saying it's not likely that Moody would win on the merits of his argument.
The judge noted that the U.S. Supreme Court and the State Court of Appeals have both upheld the State's Closed Primaries in several prior decisions.
Moody had argued that the State's voting system was unfair because to vote on April 19, he would have had to enroll in the Democratic or Republican Party last October. Unaffiliated with any party, Moody said in court papers that he didn't know he couldn't vote in the Primary until he got to the polls.
Engoron said “this court still has an open mind as to whether (Moody) might ultimately prevail on the merits. So called voter suppression measures, common around the country, have no place in a true democracy.”
Engoron said the October deadline “may just be an unnecessary hindrance to citizens” getting involved at “a meaningful point in the process” or it could be a useful tool to prevent "party raiding."
But, he said, right now, there were far too many technical problems with Moody's papers for his case to survive. For example, he said, the State BOE requires someone suing them to file papers in Albany and it's possible that Moody needs to include Political Parties and specific candidates as defendants in the case.
“The court is concerned that a ruling in (Moody's) favor will denigrate the associational rights of the political parties and their members and may lead to 'party raiding' whereby voters not aligned with a particular party or its philosophy or goals will vote for the weaker or weakest candidate ... to prevail in the general election,” the judge wrote. However, he added, “when all is said and done, (Moody) might be entitled to declaratory relief, but this Court finds that, given what an uphill battle he faces, he is not entitled to stop gears that are already in motion and have been so for quite some time.”
Moody said Engoron's decision was "fair and thoughtful...While I would have liked Judge Engoron to have ruled in my favor, the larger issue remains an open question and will ultimately be resolved."
Douglas Kellner, the top Democrat on the State Elections board, said he was "not surprised by the decision. It is a matter for the Legislature."
If New York has Initiative & Referendum, with the mood of the Country this election cycle, an Open Primaries Initiative might pass.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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