Case 1:20-cv-03325-AT Document 43 Filed 05/05/20 Page 25 of 30
candidates were actively competing for the nomination, approximately 1,970,000 voters cast
ballots. See Democratic Presidential Primary Results, Board of Elections (Dec. 8,
2016), https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2016/Primary/DemocraticPresPrimary
Results.pdf. This year, when many voters will doubtless choose to vote by mail because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, in-person turnout is likely to be dramatically lower, allowing the state to
safely accommodate those voters who need to vote at a polling location.
Moreover, in large portions of the state, including the most populous counties, elections
besides the presidential primary are scheduled for June 23. See Compl. ¶¶ 71–72. Primaries are
still taking place in 42 out of 62 counties in New York, including in Kings, Queens, New York,
Suffolk, Bronx, and Nassau Counties, each of which has a population exceeding one million.
ECF No. 32 at 29. In those localities—whether the presidential primary goes forward or not—it
will be necessary to take the protective measures Defendants describe. It is not clear that, in
those areas, resources will be conserved by eliminating the presidential primary from the ballot.
Moreover, the Court notes that June 23 is still seven weeks away. The state, therefore, has
sufficient time to take necessary steps to protect voters.
Finally, though all states are impacted by the current public health crisis, and some have
rescheduled their presidential primary elections in light of COVID-19, New York is the only one
to have canceled its primary, casting further doubt on Defendants’ contention that scrapping the
primary is necessary to combat the risk posed by the virus. See Def. Opp. at 17–18; see also
Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul, 15 States Have Postponed Primaries During the Pandemic.
One Has Canceled, The New York Times (April 27, 2020),
https://www.nytimes.com/article/2020-campaign-primary-calendar-coronavirus.html.
In sum, removing Yang, Sanders, and other candidates from the Democratic primary
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