A coalition of progressive activists is threatening to sue the New York State Board of Elections if the number of blank ballots cast in the Democratic presidential primary next Tuesday aren’t reported in the unofficial results that night.
The “Leave It Blank NY” campaign aims to convince primary voters to submit blank ballots in protest of the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The campaign was launched earlier this month by leftist activists, including Brittany Ramos DeBarros, a former candidate in New York’s 11th congressional district, and Hesham El-Meligy, a former candidate for New York City comptroller. It has since grown into a coalition of more than 20 groups — such as Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, and several New York chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America — who are coordinating phone banks and other voter engagements in the lead-up to the primary.
Although President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have already clinched their parties’ respective nominations, a significant number of blank votes recorded in New York’s presidential primary could further pressure the White House to change its stance toward the Israel-Hamas war.
Usually, only 1% of ballots are submitted blank in New York, according to Leave It Blank NY. Ballots in the upcoming presidential primary will not have “uncommitted” or write-in options, so the coalition hopes that releasing the number of blank ballots alongside other votes on primary night would allow the public to gauge antiwar sentiment among Democratic voters without having to wait until the election results are certified weeks later.
But state elections officials have said they don’t plan to report blank votes on primary night because they won’t affect the allocation of New York’s presidential delegates based on the share of votes the candidates receive, per the campaign. The elections board has…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply