Case 1:20-cv-03325-AT Document 43 Filed 05/05/20 Page 21 of 30
pique, or personal quarrels.” Burdick, 504 U.S. at 438 (internal quotation marks, citation, and
alterations omitted).
But that impression falls away upon closer examination. Although the names of the
various presidential candidates are the ones that appear on the ballot, the primary actually results
in the election of delegates to the Convention. In Rockefeller I, 74 F.3d at 1379–80, the Second
Circuit explained that even though New York’s primary system is “seen widely as a unitary state
presidential primary,” the primary in fact consists of a set of separate elections in each
congressional district for delegates:
Although popular attention may well focus on the number of delegates pledged to
each candidate at the convention, the delegates themselves will also cast votes on
platform issues and issues of party governance. No doubt, the chief purpose of
many voters will be to send a message on presidential candidates. But that does
not mean that we must treat these . . . elections as if they were a straw poll. In
short, registered [party members] in each district will be electing a slate
of . . . people who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate, who may be
freed to vote for anyone, and who will vote at the convention on other issues as
well.
Id. at 1380 (emphasis added).
As a consequence, the removal of presidential contenders from the primary ballot not
only deprived those candidates of the chance to garner votes for the Democratic Party’s
nomination, but also deprived their pledged delegates of the opportunity to run for a position
where they could influence the party platform, vote on party governance issues, pressure the
eventual nominee on matters of personnel or policy, and react to unexpected developments at the
Convention. And it deprived Democratic voters of the opportunity to elect delegates who could
push their point of view in that forum. Delegate Plaintiffs, who had planned to compete in the
primary, express a strong continuing interest in doing so if given the chance, and affirm that they
have made significant personal sacrifices for the opportunity. Compl. ¶¶ 6, 56, 59; see Herzog
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