New York State Trial Court Strikes Down 2021 Law that Forbade Primary Voters From Writing In a Non-Member Candidate

On April 6, the Erie County Supreme Court struck down a 2021 New York law that forbids voters in primaries from casting a write-in vote for someone who is not a member of that party. The case had been filed by voters from the Conservative Party and the Working Families Party. Kowal v Mohr, 801603/2023.

The ostensible purpose of the 2021 law was to stop “party-raiding”, in which voters who are hostile to a particular party cast insincere votes in that party’s primary, in order to injure that party. But all the available evidence suggested that rarely, if ever, happens. Thanks to Joe Burns for this news. The basis for the decision was the state constitutional protection of the right to vote.


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New York State Trial Court Strikes Down 2021 Law that Forbade Primary Voters From Writing In a Non-Member Candidate — 4 Comments

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