With Manhattan Judge Analisa Torres's ruling that mail-in ballots without postmarks for the June 23 primary can be counted, the New York GOP fears the end of honest elections in the state as we know it. According to her, the New York City Board of Elections must accept ballots without postmarks, even if they arrived two days after the election. To not count them, she said, would be a violation of voters' free speech and due process under the law.
"When voters have been provided with absentee ballots and assured that their votes on those ballots will be counted, the state cannot ignore a later discovered, systemic problem that arbitrarily renders those ballots invalid,” Judge Torres argued.
Thus begins the end of honest elections in New York State. https://t.co/TWTlw4CQ6T
— Nick Langworthy (@NickLangworthy) August 4, 2020
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary to President George W. Bush, predicted the impact Judge Torres's decision could have on future elections.
In NYC, a judge ruled ballots without postmarks count, even if they arrived 2 days after the election.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) August 4, 2020
This gives the post office huge power. The morning after a close election, ballot harvesting and no postmarks can change results. https://t.co/EONYKSwWKr
It's now been six weeks since the New York election, but the state has still not been able to declare a winner. New York Times reporting shone a light on the tens of thousands of mishandled mail-in ballots. The last count showed incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) with just a 3,700 vote lead over her opponent Suraj Patel, one of the plaintiffs who presented the suit regarding the mail-in ballots.
Per usual, no one, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is willing to accept blame for the mismanagement.
