On April 28, 2020, Andrew Yang, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, and several candidates for New York’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention filed suit against the New York State Board of Elections over its decision to cancel the state’s Democratic presidential preference primary. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Democratic presidential preference primary, originally scheduled to take place on April 28, 2020, was postponed to coincide with the statewide primary for congressional, state, and local offices scheduled to take place on June 23, 2020. Senator Bernie Sanders (I) suspended his presidential campaign on April 8, 2020, making former Vice President Joe Biden (D) the presumptive Democratic nominee. On April 27, 2020, the state board of elections canceled the Democratic presidential preference primary. A law enacted earlier in April authorized the board to remove candidates from ballots upon the suspension or termination of their campaigns.
To date, Ballotpedia has tracked at least 32 lawsuits dealing with the administration of elections in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. These suits span 20 states and have, to date, resulted in nine rulings and/or settlements. Ballotpedia has tracked another 52 lawsuits dealing with other state actions undertaken in response to the outbreak. These suits span 29 states and have, to date, resulted in 14 rulings and/or settlements.
